With the New York Mets sending Dominic Smith down in a series of transactions designed to make room on the Major League roster for both Yoenis Cespedes and Jason Vargas to return from the disabled list, the Mets will have both Smith and Peter Alonso on the same roster.

This could not have happened at a worse time for either player.

When Smith was called up to the majors, he had not exactly earned his way onto the roster hitting just .260/.343/.370 in 56 games.  Unfortunately, things did not improve for him when he was called up to the majors.  He would play sparingly, and when he did play he didn’t hit.  Overall, he has a -1.1 WAR while hitting .183/.216/.324.

With Smith struggling and Alonso dominating in Double-A, it seemed as if Alonso had easily surpassed Smith as the Mets first baseman of the future.  With every homer, it seemed like that future was going to happen at some point this season.

Things changed for Alonso when he was called-up to Triple-A.  In 27 games, he is hitting .178/.306/.426 with a 30.1 percent strikeout rate.  One thing that has been encouraging is Alonso has not regressed in terms of his newfound plate discipline.  Despite his struggles, he has maintained a solid 12.4 percent walk rate.

With both players struggling, Tony DeFrancesco not only has to find a way to get both players back on track, but he also has to find a way to find playing time for both players.

Seemingly, the playing time is the easier of the two issues.  With Smith getting up to speed in left field, and the Mets having no prospect of note in the outfield, it would at least seem he could play there everyday.  Another consideration is Las Vegas will have the DH available to permit the team to shift both prospects between first base and DH.

The dilemma there is Smith is by far the better defensive first baseman of the two.  From that standpoint, Smith should be the everyday first baseman with Alonso at DH.

However, this is the minor leagues where organizations put an emphasis on player development over winning.  To that end, Alonso needs the reps at first base much more than Smith does.

To that end, it should come as no surprise John Ricco says Alonso will get most of the reps at first with Smith mostly playing the outfield.

This is really where DeFrancesco is going to have to earn his money.  Somehow, some way, he has to help both players improve, have them not just retain but improve their value, and he is going to have to make each player feel as if the organization is invested in them.  That’s much easier said than done, especially when the organization is having Smith play out of position to accommodate Alonso.

Further complicating everything is Cespedes interest in possibly making a position change to first base in order to help keep his legs healthy to stay in the lineup.  Given his being owed $58 million over the next two seasons, Jay Bruce being owed $28 million over the next two seasons, and the emergence of Brandon Nimmo was an All Star caliber player, it’s very possible the Mets give Cespedes every opportunity to become the Mets first baseman next year.

With that being the case, Smith and Alonso are not only in a position where they have to distinguish themselves from one another, they are also going to have to distinguish themselves to the point where the club is willing to give these two talented young players a job at first base over more established and far better paid players.

Believe it or not, even with their recent struggles both Smith and Alonso possess the talent to force the issue with the Mets organization.  If we get to the point where Smith and Alonso are forcing the issue, the Mets will be in a very good position.