Each year at 213 we look through the Non-Roster Invitees to spring training and get to know them a bit. Are they in camp to get a look at big league hitting/pitching to aid their development? Are the Mets just trying to get a better look at a future rookie? Are they a veteran trying to get back to the major league level? What can we expect from them this season?
It’s finally the end of this series! Today we look at Mallex Smith who signed a minor league contract with the Mets way back on November 4th, part of an early wave of depth signings for the Mets. Smith was drafted in 2011 by the Brewers but didn’t sign. He was then drafted the following year by the Padres in the 5th round. In December 2014 he was traded with Max Fried and others to the Braves for Justin Upton (he’s the second player the Mets have in camp who was involved in a Justin Upton trade) and he made his major league debut with the Braves. In January 2017 he was traded to the Mariners and then that same day he was traded to the Rays. At the end of 2018 he was traded back to the Mariners (because who hasn’t been involved in multiple Seattle trades) and signed as a free agent with the Mets.
Statistically, Mallex Smith is an interesting player because he’s not too far removed from a good amount of success at the plate. He’s a career .255/.325/.361 hitter and is coming off a 2020 campaign where he got only 47 PA’s and hit .133/.170/.178 but in 2018 and 2019 he was different.
For the 2018 Rays he led the league in triples with 10 (and caught stealings with 12, but he did swipe 40 bags that year) which lead to a .296/.367/.406/.773 line over 141 Games and 544 PA’s. The following year in 566 PA’s his slash line dropped a lot, .227/.300/.335/.635 but he did lead the league in steals at 46. Except for 2020, he has always had at least a .635 OPS.
So he’s an interesting player. The outfield picture for the Mets is crowded, assisted by no true centerfielder and several infielders that can also play in the outfield. I’m interested to see the speed that Smith brings to camp. If anything, Syracuse could be very interesting with Fargas/Smith/Ferguson all playing in the outfield.
