Mallex Smith Moves Twice

ATLANTA—When the Braves acquired Mallex Smith in 2014, he was supposed to be the team’s leadoff man of the future. But that was before the Braves fleeced the Diamondbacks in the Shelby Miller trade.

In addition to landing shortstop Dansby Swanson, the Braves acquired leadoff man of the present Ender Inciarte in the team’s December 2015 trade that sent Miller to the Diamondbacks. Inciarte hit .291/.351/.381 for the Braves in 2016 while also impressing with his defense in center field.

Inciarte signed a five-year contract extension in December, which solidified his presence in the outfield. Veterans Matt Kemp and Nick Markakis are pencilled into the outfield corners. That meant Smith’s only options were a spot on the bench or back in Triple-A.

So after an injury-plagued 2016 season, Smith was no longer in the Braves’ plans. Atlanta traded him and righthander Shae Simmons in early January to the Mariners in exchange for lefthanders Luiz Gohara and Thomas Burrows. The Mariners then dealt him to the Rays as part of a package that sent lefthander Drew Smyly to Seattle.

The 2016 season was not kind to Smith. After being named the organization’s player of the year in 2015, the 23-year-old made his major league debut in April.

Smith, who was acquired from the Padres in the Justin Upton trade after the 2014 season, made strides with his baserunning and defense before getting hit by a pitch and breaking his thumb on June 19. He wound up missing 10 weeks and concluded the year batting .238/.316/.365.

By this offseason, there was no clear spot for Smith in Atlanta.

Instead, Atlanta decided to trade him to the Mariners and land one of the best lefty arms in baseball in return. Gohara, who ranked No. 3 on the Mariners’ Top 10 Prospects list, has been clocked at 100 mph.

WIGWAM WISPS

• First baseman Joey Meneses put together a strong winter showing with his hometown team, Culiacan, in Mexico. In 60 games, Meneses hit .308/.345/.444 with seven home runs.

• The Braves were also pleased with Johan Camargo’s performance in the Dominican Republic this winter. The new member of the 40-man roster batted .275/.310/.500 in 25 games as a shortstop with Zulia.

— Bill Ballew is a writer based in North Carolina