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<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cI\u2019m really happy for him that he\u2019s having a good camp,\u2019\u2019 Alonso said of Smith, who was once considered the Mets first baseman of the future- until Alonso came along.<\/p>\n
\u201cDom is a really good player and I hope they let him break with the team and give him a ton of at-bats,\u201d Alonso said.<\/p>\n
Smith is battling Ben Rice and J.C. Escarra, both also lefty hitters, for at least part-time DH duties to start the season after the right-handed Everson Pereira was sent to minor league camp as he plays his way back from Tommy John surgery.<\/p>\n
Rice and Escarra can provide depth behind the plate, backing up Austin Wells, and there\u2019s always the distinct possibility the Yankees add a righty-swinging option before the end of spring training.<\/p>\n
For now, though, Smith remains in the mix.<\/p>\n His career peaked in 2020, when he got some MVP votes during the COVID-shortened season, when he was still platooning at first with Alonso.<\/p>\n There once was a bit of a debate about how the Mets should handle the position moving forward before Alonso became the full-time first baseman for good in 2021.<\/p>\n He\u2019s back in Queens again after a rough foray into free agency, but Smith has had a much more circuitous journey through the majors since being non-tendered by the Mets following the 2022 season.<\/p>\n Smith has appeared in big league games for Washington, Cincinnati and Boston, but has also spent time with the Cubs and Rays before joining the Yankees in January.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one thing with Dom is he always has a great attitude and makes everyone smile,\u2019\u2019 Alonso said. \u201cThat\u2019s always consistent with him. He makes everyone around him want to be better. He has a very positive personality and there\u2019s a lot he can do to help a team.\u201d<\/p>\n And Alonso hopes that happens with the Yankees.<\/p>\n \u201cI really want him to do well for them and crush it over there,\u2019\u2019 Alonso said. \u201cPeople in New York love him. I hope they give him some runway once the season starts and not just in camp and that he finds success. He deserves it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Former Met Dom Smith is trying to win a roster spot with the crosstown Yankees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":42420,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1264,44,17,40,42,50,780],"class_list":["post-42419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-dominic-smith","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-mets","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-pete-alonso","tag-sports","tag-spring-training"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Pete](\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/205542357_072921Mets066CW.jpg?w=1024\")
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