The story of former Seattle Mariners outfielder Mallex Smith

The Seattle Mariners traded for Mallex Smith, traded him away, and traded for him again. The Smith story came to an end after joining the Mets this offseason.

Mallex Smith bounced around to many teams throughout his career and was involved in three Seattle Mariners trades in a short time span. The first trade was in 2017, where the Seattle Mariners made a deal with the Atlanta Braves:

Shae Simmons was a 26-year-old relief pitcher while Mallex Smith was a 23-year-old prospect who just made his MLB debut in 2016. The Seattle Mariners traded away Luiz Gohara (Mariners 5th ranked prospect) and Thomas Burrows (Mariners 25th ranked prospect) who were both left-handed pitching prospects in the Seattle organization. Smith was one of the main pieces of the trade but was traded right after the Mariners acquired him.

All of this movement seemed like a great idea at the time. The addition of Drew Smyly would solidify the Seattle Mariners rotation which had Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton, and Yovani Gallardo already. According to MLB.com, general manager Jerry Dipoto said, “Smyly really fits us… He’s a proven performer in the American League. He fills out our rotation nicely.”

The addition of Shae Simmons was also a move to bolster the rotation which needed support. This seemed like two great moves with the expense of several prospects including Ryan Yarbrough (Mariners 13th ranked prospect) who is still a part of the Tampa Bay Rays organization now. The trade did not work out as plan after Smyly started on the disabled list, and later required Tommy John Surgery on his elbow.

Looking back at these two trades, the Seattle Mariners essentially received nothing in exchange for Ryan Yarbrough and Mallex Smith. Gohara ended up being a bust and Burrows is currently available in the MLB Rule 5 Draft and could return to the Mariners. Now let’s look at the trade that brought back Mallex Smith.

Mallex Smith elected free agency in October and was signed by the New York Mets

The Seattle Mariners outrighted Mallex Smith in September and elected free agency in October, making himself available to sign with other teams. The New York Mets made several moves in early November and Smith was one of those signings. The Mets signed Mallex Smith to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

With the signing, Smith’s time in Seattle officially came to a close after two seasons. The Mariners never were able to see his full potential unfortunately and had to move on from the 27-year-old outfielder. The team gave him a large role in 2019 and did okay for the most part.

During the 2019 season, Smith batted .227, .635 OPS, and hit only six home runs. His OPS+ was 73, and his offensive WAR was 1.0. He did however lead the league with 46 stolen bases, but the Mariners were expecting his 2017 and 2018 performance with the Rays where he batted well over .250.

Smith really struggled in 2020 and essentially got booted out of the rotation of outfielders. I think Jerry Dipoto wanted Mallex Smith to be a part of the Seattle Mariners rebuild had he played well, but he did not do enough to keep him in the organization. In 2020, he only appeared in 14 games and batted .133. Although he is usually a good outfielder, he turned into a liability in 2020.

With the young Seattle core emerging, Smith could not compete and had no place in Seattle. Smith now joins a Mets team that just changed ownership and is looking to change the culture. The Mets signed many veteran players to minor league contracts with the hope of fostering competition. Smith has a chance to showcase his skills and make the MLB team if he can play well.

Smith was unable to produce outside of stealing bases, so it will be interesting to see if he can repeat his performances when he was with the Tampa Bay Rays. To say the least, trading for Mallex Smith was a disappointing move.