The one gem from that ill-fated trade deadline was Drew Smith. When he’s been on the field, he’s proven why the Mets took him in exchange for Lucas Duda.

In 2021, he made the leap. In 31 appearances, he was 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA, 1.065 WHIP, 3.5 BB/9, and an 8.9 K/9. From an advanced stat perspective, he had a 0.8 WAR and 168 ERA+.

Looking to Baseball Savant, Smith had elite fastball spin and near elite curveball spin. Harnessing that spin with Jeremy Hefner helped Smith make significant progress in 2021.

However, Smith didn’t make “the leap.” The reason was he once again landed on the IL. This time it was with right shoulder inflammation. It was his second time on the IL that season with this IL stint being season ending.

That is one of the marks of Smith’s career – injuries. He had undergone Tommy John in 2019. That cost him a year of pitching and development. He was healthy for parts of 2021, and we again saw the potential.

The thing is the Mets are getting past the point of his potential. They need real progress. Mostly, they need him on the mound.

He’s an arbitration eligible player. He does have two options remaining, but the Mets don’t want yo have to use them anymore. They want Drew Smith.

In many ways, they need him to take that leap. After the 2022 season, Edwin Diaz will be a free agent, and Smith is about the entire list of internal closer candidates. Smith has the ability to take over, but the biggest ability is availability.

Smith isn’t there on the latter, but it seems like everything else is there or can be there. Hopefully, in 2022, Smith will be healthy for a full season and put it all together. The Mets desperately need him to do so.