Sandy Alderson: Dominic Smith should be promoted before Sept. 1
Dominic Smith #74 of the New York Mets talks with first base coach Tom Goodwin #22 prior to a spring training game against the Houston Astros at Tradition Field on February 27, 2017 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Credit: Getty Images / Joe Robbins
Amed Rosario is in the majors. Dominic Smith is not too far behind.
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said Friday that Smith should join Rosario on the big club in “the near future. But I can’t give you a specific time frame. I have said we prefer to see him earlier than Sept. 1. I think we will. But other than that, I can’t be more specific.”
Why not now? The Mets have a need at first base after trading Lucas Duda to the Rays. Jay Bruce started there on Friday night against the Dodgers. But Alderson wants to give Smith more time at Triple-A Las Vegas before he comes up as the everyday first baseman in Flushing.
“We want to make sure as with Amed, when he comes here, he gets most of the playing time,” Alderson said of Smith, 22, who entered Friday batting .337 with 16 homers and 73 RBIs for the 51s.
It also could help Smith if the Mets traded some of their veterans to clear room on the field and on the roster. Bruce, for example, has cleared waivers and can be traded, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Bruce is owed about $4 million for the rest of the season and has a limited no-trade clause (eight teams).
Trainer’s room
Hansel Robles, who said he felt numbness in his fingers when he walked home the winning run with a pitch to the backstop on Thursday but didn’t tell the team until after the game, had an MRI on Friday. The Mets did not immediately announce the results, and Robles was active.
“We’ll see what the results are,“ Alderson said. “We had a little difficulty deciding what to MRI.”
Alderson said Matt Harvey (stress injury, right shoulder) is throwing off a mound and Noah Syndergaard (right lat tear) is “probably a couple weeks behind Harvey. But we do expect both of them back.”
Jeurys Familia (blood clot surgery) could be back “by the third week in August,” Alderson said.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
