LAS VEGAS — Last spring, Cam Smith captivated a clubhouse, changed an organization’s plans for his development and swung his way onto the Houston Astros’ Opening Day roster. It is the sort of rise that spurs talk of superstardom, fitting for someone called an “aircraft carrier” before even entering the spring training complex.
“The talent is off the charts. He could be a star one day. We all know that,” general manager Dana Brown said on Wednesday. “We saw glimpses of it last year, but we’re going to need him to be more consistent.”
Brown values on-field performance. He is a lifelong scout who believes in rewarding those who produce, even if it sometimes runs counter to convention. Carrying a 22-year-old with 32 games of professional experience on an Opening Day roster certainly counts.
Smith’s stupendous showing in Grapefruit League play influenced Brown’s decision to put him on the active roster. Similar scrutiny will follow Smith’s performance this spring, one Brown acknowledged will determine whether the wunderkind will have a roster spot at all.
“I would think he comes back and tries to play with more consistency and makes the necessary adjustments, but we have to be open to sending him back to Triple A if he hasn’t turned the corner,” Brown said.
“The veteran guys that have done it, have a track record, they’re penciled in. The other guys, I feel like we have to let it play out. See who comes in hot and see who owns it. There’s a lot to be said for guys that work hard in the offseason and then make the necessary adjustments. We’re hoping that Cam does that. If he does that, we’ll be excited.”
If Smith does not, it will create myriad questions about the Astros’ outfield configuration.
That Brown said, without prompt, that Houston needs to “firm up” its outfield this winter only furthered the intrigue. Then again, just five teams extracted a lower OPS from their outfields last season than Houston’s .665 mark.
Over 134 games, Smith hit .236/.312/.358 with nine homers and 51 RBIs. His contributions were worth 1.9 bWAR. (Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
Blaming Smith alone for that misery is disingenuous. Yordan Alvarez appeared in just 48 games while battling various injuries. Center fielder Jake Meyers missed almost two months of his breakout season with a calf strain. His backups, Chas McCormick and Jacob Melton, provided no production in his place.
Trade deadline acquisition Jesús Sánchez, obtained from Miami in part due to Smith’s underperformance, slashed .199/.269/.342 in 48 games as an Astro. On Wednesday, Brown said Houston will listen if teams inquire about Sánchez and his projected $6.5 million arbitration salary.
If not for the injuries to Meyers and Alvarez, along with Sánchez’s anemia, Smith likely would’ve been demoted to the minor leagues. He had a .489 OPS in 170 plate appearances after the All-Star break, a span during which he delivered eight extra-base hits.
The lack of other options made it almost impossible to send Smith to the minor leagues. Brown even shot down the notion in September, maintaining confidence in Smith’s makeup while hanging onto his marvelous defense in right field.
Few people in the organization have been more bullish on Smith than Brown, the executive who made him the centerpiece of last December’s Kyle Tucker trade. The mere acknowledgment on Wednesday that Smith isn’t assured of a roster spot served as the most newsworthy revelation from Brown’s 40-minute meeting with reporters at The Cosmopolitan hotel.
Brown said he’s already had conversations with both Smith and “his people who represent him” about the club’s expectations and, presumably, the lack of a guaranteed place on Houston’s Opening Day roster. According to Brown, Smith has been “working his tail off” to make needed offensive adjustments.
“When he made the club out of spring training, he did a lot of damage to the opposite field. There were times during the course of the season that he became a little pull happy,” Brown said. “We need Cam to stay (up the) middle and opposite field. That’s what we liked about him when he made the club.”
Smith is more mature than most 22-year-olds. His makeup amazed most of the veterans in Houston’s clubhouse, as did his stoicism and blunt self-assessments in the face of such pronounced struggles. Any fear that Brown’s comments on Wednesday may have disturbed Smith’s psyche feels far-fetched.
Clearly, though, Smith has moved into a more precarious position within Houston’s organizational hierarchy. For him to get something more secure, Smith’s production must match his prospect status and potential.
If it doesn’t and Smith must spend substantial time in the minor leagues, it’s worth wondering how Houston will deploy its outfield. Meyers will return in center field, though league sources have indicated there is significant trade interest in him. Does the uncertainty surrounding Smith make it more likely that Houston keeps Sánchez, a natural right fielder, in hopes he can author a turnaround?
“There’s probably some conversations we’re going to have, maybe with some outfield pieces, we may have to make some decisions of who to start and is there a trade piece in the outfield,” Brown said.
Brown said on Wednesday that Alvarez will get “a lot more” games in left field, especially at Daikin Park. Jose Altuve will again factor into the left field timeshare, though Brown said he will split time between second base, left field and designated hitter. Rookie Zach Cole received plenty of praise from Brown on Wednesday, too, but would finding another established outfielder be beneficial?
Smith is one of the few people who can help to answer that question.
“He’s going to have to make another adjustment and, if he does that, good things will happen,” Brown said. “We think he’s certainly capable of it given the physical talent, the mental skills and mental toughness that he has, we feel like he can make those adjustments.
“And we’re looking forward to him making those adjustments. We want him to be the star player we think he can be when we traded for him.”