Even worse, Smith has not hit well in the minor leagues this season, which at least he did in 2017.

Still, the Mets are planning to give Smith another shot in September. For now, he is teammates with Alonso in Las Vegas, where it is Alonso who is generally at first base and Smith pushed to left field.

The Mets have tried to frame Smith’s new position as a way for him to become more versatile. But as an outfielder, Smith is still raw and it showed last week when the Mets lost an extra-inning game to the San Francisco Giants after he barreled into shortstop Amed Rosario on a pop fly and knocked the ball loose.

Smith owned up to the mistake after the game. But a certain feeling felt inescapable — that in a lost season for the Mets, Smith, too, was sort of lost. Even during those periods when he has been on the Mets’ active roster, he has been something of an afterthought — not being given all that many chances to play.

“My expectations coming into this year, what I wanted to accomplish this year, are definitely different than what happened,” Smith acknowledged to reporters last week.

Smith said he thought he would be like Gleyber Torres of the Yankees or Ronald Acuña and Ozzie Albies of the Atlanta Braves — top prospects who have lived up to their hype with strong performances this season.

“I know that’s the potential I have, and I can do that,” he insisted. “So for it not to happen, and for me to go through this rough patch, it’s probably the first time I’ve ever really struggled in my life.’’