Dodgers' Will Smith is quietly having the worst offensive season of his career

The Dodgers extending Will Smith for 10 years and $140 million a day before their stateside Opening Day was a no-brainer at the time. All parties involved had already settled on $8.55 million in arbitration, which seemed to close the door on the possibility of an immediate extension, despite the fact that fans were calling for it. Smith got his first All-Star nod last season, and was the Dodgers' best hitter by far during their short-lived postseason run last year.

The extension made him the fifth highest-paid player on the Dodgers this season, but he still had a lot to prove. Three MVPs — Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman — made up the top of the lineup, and Smith was tasked with batting cleanup and attempting to follow that kind of star- and firepower.

At first, he looked like he was up to the task. He was batting .362 with a .946 OPS by the end of April, with just three homers, but 23 RBI. However, things quickly took a downturn as the calendar flipped over to May. He was still hitting for power effectively, but he only had a .212 average.

Things got even worse at the beginning of June, representing a lingering issue that has lasted through the present. Through the Dodgers' game against the Orioles on Tuesday, he's batting .198. His .181 average since June 13 makes him the 155th worst hitter in the league out of 157 qualified players.

Should the Dodgers be worried about Will Smith as he's struggled through the season?

On Tuesday, Smith went 0-for-4 at the plate with two strikeouts, and those two strikeouts came with runners in scoring position. Although he did get properly screwed by the home plate umpire on the second one, it remains indicative of a larger issue. Smith's overall batting run value has shrunk into the 48th percentile this season. He didn't hit the fastball very well last season, but is doing only marginally better this year. He's also not seeing the off-speed stuff like he used to, with a .225 average against it (vs. a .316 average last season in the same scenario).

His performance behind the plate has also dipped significantly in a couple of areas. He's catching almost every player who tries to run on him, but his framing and blocking have both gotten worse this year; he's in the ninth and fifth percentile in both categories.

Players are allowed to have bad years, and Smith's performances have historically dipped in the back half of seasons, but this isn't the kind of guy the Dodgers need in the postseason. LA has dropped him as low as sixth in the lineup as of late, favoring Teoscar Hernández in the cleanup spot for obvious reasons. None of this inspires any confidence that they made the right decision to make him a Dodger for life, and he'll need to get his act together to avoid having to force the Dodgers to make a tough decision further down the line.