As the Mets approach the trade deadline, they will have to decide at what positions they are set and what spots need help.
If Drew Smith is not right, then their bullpen surely needs an upgrade.
Smith, an under-the-radar weapon out of the bullpen for much of the season, was knocked around for a third-straight appearance in the Mets’ 5-2 loss to the Marlins at Citi Field on Friday night.
Smith allowed a two-run home run to Garrett Cooper in the eighth inning to provide Miami a cushion the Mets couldn’t overcome. It was the third consecutive game in which Smith has surrendered a homer.
“It seems to be just one or two pitches,” said Smith, whose slider to Cooper came in higher than he wanted. “The home runs have been getting me. If I can limit those, I feel like I’ll be in a better spot.”
As recently as June 28, the 28-year-old sported a tidy 1.99 ERA, having allowed four home runs in his first 31 ²/₃ innings. Three appearances, three homers (from Cincinnati’s Nick Senzel, Houston’s Jason Castro and Cooper) and five runs later, his ERA has been inflated by more than a run, to 3.06.
Both Smith and manager Buck Showalter said his command just needs to be better, and neither sounded alarms.
“He’s pitching well on the whole,” Showalter said after the Mets’ bats couldn’t pick up Chris Bassitt, Smith and Joely Rodriguez, who allowed a ninth-inning run. “I don’t throw everything out that [Smith has] done for us.
“He’s been a key part for us, and he will be again.”
The suddenly struggling righty entered in the seventh inning of a one-run game and escaped an inherited jam by inducing a double-play ball from Miami’s Jacob Stallings.
But after Showalter stuck with Smith for the eighth inning, Jon Berti doubled down the right-field line before Cooper launched a 377-foot bomb off the right-field foul pole.
The runs loomed large when Francisco Lindor homered in the bottom of the eighth, a solo shot that would have tied the score if Smith had not allowed any runs in the top of the inning.
Smith, who was sidelined with a right shoulder injury last season and still finished with a career-high 41 ¹/₃ innings (a tally he already is approaching in 2022), said he feels healthy. His velocity has not dipped, and the stuff is still there.
For three games, though, the results haven’t been.
“Hopefully by the time I leave here, I’ll be over it,” Smith said. “Flush it and get ready for tomorrow.”