WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Dominic Smith didn’t just spend the offseason getting healthy.
Though he did rehab a partially torn labrum that he played through last season, the Mets first baseman and left fielder also spent time breaking down his swing and studying the swings of some of the best in the game.
“I watched a lot of Big Papi [David Ortiz], I watched a lot of Miguel Cabrera, I watched a lot of Mike Trout,” Smith said. “Obviously they’re all different hitters, they all have different setups. But it’s certain little things they do that are why they’re successful. Just watching those hitters and how they move, and then adding what I do well and trying to move similar to those guys, I think that’s the reason why I’m able to do what I did [Saturday].”
What Smith did was smack a home run and a triple in the Mets’ Grapefruit League opener, a 6-2 win over the Nationals at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. It continued a hot start to camp for Smith, who also hit two homers off teammate Max Scherzer in a simulated game Wednesday.
“Just a reminder of what he can do when he’s healthy,” manager Buck Showalter said.
Smith has put an emphasis on using his legs more and holding his ground — instead of the “jumpy” swing he said he had last season — which he hopes will help him recognize pitches better and avoid chasing.
Before last season, Josh Walker had never pitched in a game above Low-A. This spring, the left-hander is locker-mates with Scherzer, and Saturday night he tossed three scoreless innings in a start against the Nationals.
“Being in the same room as those guys was kind of unthinkable a few years ago,” said Walker, a non-roster invitee to big league camp who could offer starting depth this season. “I feel like I earned my way here.”
Walker was a 37th-round draft pick in 2017 out of the University of New Haven. He put himself on the Mets’ radar with a breakout season in 2021, starting at High-A Brooklyn and finishing at Triple-A with a combined 3.73 ERA across 115 ²/₃ innings.
The Mets made another cut, optioning LHP Thomas Szapucki to minor league camp. Szapucki threw two scoreless innings Friday in an intrasquad game. There are 58 players left in big league camp.