Boston among teams interested in Mets first baseman Dominic Smith

The Red Sox are among the teams that have discussed first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith in trade talks with the Mets, according to a report from FanSided’s Robert Murray.

Smith, 27, has yo-yoed between Triple-A and the majors this year, appearing in 58 games for New York and 15 for Triple-A Syracuse. In the majors, the lefty swinger owns a .194 average with zero homers, 17 RBIs and .560 OPS in 152 plate appearances. He’s having a down year after also struggling in 2021 but is just two years removed from an excellent 2020 (.316 average, .993 OPS in 50 games). He also had a good offensive season in 2019 (.282, .881 OPS in 89 games).

Smith has split his time in the majors between first base (187 games) and left field (182 games) but has not played the outfield in the majors this year. He has lost favor with the Mets, who have Pete Alonso at first base, Mark Canha in left and J.D. Davis in the designated hitter role this season. Smith is a change-of-scenery candidate who is under team control through 2024.

It’s no secret why the Red Sox are looking at adding a first baseman. In the first half of the season, Boston’s first basemen rank last in the majors in OPS (.604), 29th in average (.209) and 28th in homers (seven). The platoon of Bobby Dalbec and Franchy Cordero hasn’t cut it and Triston Casas has missed months with an ankle injury, leading chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom to consider moves at the position.