Mets 1B Dominic Smith hits 10-day IL with right ankle sprain

Right as reports emerged Wednesday claiming that the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs could be interested in acquiring struggling New York Mets first baseman and outfielder Dominic Smith before the upcoming trade deadline, it was said that Smith would be hitting the injured list due to a right ankle sprain he suffered last Saturday during a game at the Cubs. 

Per Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post, the Mets have now made that move official and placed Smith on the 10-day IL retroactive to Sunday. As of early Thursday afternoon, the Amazins hadn't yet announced a corresponding roster move as New York prepares for Friday's series opener versus the San Diego Padres. 

This is yet another unfortunate blow for Smith, who was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse back on the final day of May because of his woeful numbers at the plate at that time. The 27-year-old was recalled to the big-league roster on June 20 but is currently slashing just .194/.276/.284/.560 with zero home runs and 17 RBI across 58 games. 

The Mets are expected to shop for a bat before the Aug. 2 trade deadline.

As for the first-place Mets, they began Thursday's league action holding a two-and-a-half-game lead over the second-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East standings