MINNEAPOLIS — Dominic Smith said he didn’t want to look ahead to the next opponent on the schedule. You couldn’t blame him if his mind wandered, though.
“[There are] some things that we need to clean up in here, get the ball rolling so we can win some of these ballgames,” he said. “So I haven’t really thought too much ahead. Just trying to take it one day at a time, do my job. ... When that comes, it’ll be fun.”
Smith isn’t the only Nationals player returning to New York this week: Right-hander Trevor Williams made 40 appearances, including 12 starts, with the Mets over the past two seasons. He’s in line to start Thursday’s series finale.
But Smith has much more history in New York. The 27-year-old made his major league debut in August 2017 and learned the highs and lows of being a major leaguer with the Mets. During spring training in 2018, he missed a team meeting and was benched. At times, he struggled defensively. Last season, he was sent back to Class AAA for the first time since 2019.
They weren’t all bad times. His best year came in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when he hit .316 with 10 home runs and 42 RBI in 50 games. He followed up with 11 homers but struggled through 145 games in 2021. He never managed to replicate his 2020 success while playing behind Pete Alonso at first base, his natural position, and spending time in the outfield.
The Mets cut him loose after he hit .194 with no homers in 58 games in 2022. He joined Washington in January on a one-year deal and said he believed playing consistently at first base would make him more comfortable on the field and at the plate. The Nationals believed he could be a bounce-back candidate. But for every Kyle Schwarber or Josh Bell, there’s the possibility that a Washington newcomer ends up hitting like Nelson Cruz.
Smith has been solid defensively, but his offense has lagged. He went 3 for 11 against the Twins, raising his batting average to .233. But it’s never good when a player’s on-base percentage (.325) is significantly higher than his slugging percentage (.233). All 17 of Smith’s hits have been singles.
Hitting coach Darnell Coles believes Smith needs to get his hands to the baseball quicker; his lateness is causing weak contact. He hasn’t barreled a ball yet, per Baseball Savant. His average exit velocity is in the bottom 9 percent.
“It’s a tough game,” Smith said. “You want to do well; you want to play well. Sometimes you try to do a little bit too much.”
The Nationals expected Smith to be a run producer in the middle of the order. But with runners in scoring position, he’s 2 for 17 with six strikeouts. On Sunday, when he went 0 for 3, he struck out with runners on second and third to end the top of the first inning. The Nationals led 1-0 at the time, and a hit might have blown it open. Washington would not score again in a 3-1 loss.
Last week, Manager Dave Martinez was adamant that Smith would turn things around. He put Smith second in his batting order — where he wants his best hitter — for five straight games. (He went 2 for 19.) But against the Twins, Martinez dropped Smith to sixth.
“We’re just trying to make things happen,” Martinez said. “We really need to get Dom going. He’s a big part of our offense.”
At the plate, the Nationals performed better in Minnesota, but that didn’t have much to do with Smith. Jeimer Candelario, Joey Meneses and Keibert Ruiz showed signs of improvement, bolstering the heart of the order. Now the Nationals will wait on Smith to follow suit.
“Any major leaguer that’s either struggling or hasn’t been here for a long time is always worried about the outside noise,” Coles said. “ ‘I got to hit. I got to do this.’ Just relax and go play. Do your thing, trust your process, come in and get the work done every day ... and then let that play come game time. Don’t worry about the stuff that’s out of your control.”