New York Mets reliever Drew Smith, with a new contract in hand, called the possibility of a late-season debut in 2025 the “best-case scenario” as he continues rehabbing from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last summer.
“I hate to put a timeline on these things because I know how difficult it is,” Smith said on Monday from spring training in Port St. Lucie, FL. “…With the timeline, if everything goes great, we’ll see where we’re at by the end of the year. That’s kind of what I’m hoping. But then again, it’s so unpredictable with this TJ rehab and any rehab in general. If I could get back here by the end of the year, that would be best-case scenario. So that would definitely be my goal.”
The 31-year-old right-hander began playing catch last week, which he labeled as “obviously light.” The procedure that he underwent in July was the second Tommy John surgery of his career — the first eliminating his entire 2019 season with the Mets.
Regardless of his uncertain status, New York opted to re-sign Smith — who made his MLB debut with the club in 2018 — to a one-year deal that includes a club option for the 2026 season.
He went 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 17.2 innings pitched last season. He owns a 3.48 career ERA in six seasons with the Mets.
“It means a lot [to be back],” Smith said. “I’ve been through a couple injuries since I’ve been here, two Tommy Johns. It’s the only organization I’ve known. Thankfully, we started having conversations pretty soon after it happened. There’s nowhere else I wanted to be. I talked to a couple of other teams, but from the get-go, this is where I wanted to be. They made it clear that they wanted me back, and it felt really good.
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