Just before the start of the regular season, the Mets and San Diego Padres had a deal on the table that would have sent Dominic Smith to the Padres in exchange for starting pitcher Chris Paddack, first baseman Eric Hosmer, reliever Emilio Pagan and cash.

The deal fell apart, and now it appears we know exactly why.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the deal never came to fruition because of red flags around Paddack’s medicals.

Paddack, 26, was eventually dealt to the Minnesota Twins, but he underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday, proving the Mets’ reservations were justified. The right-hander started five games for Minnesota, pitching to a 4.03 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP.

Smith, meanwhile, has also had his struggles at the plate this season, and once again expressed his desire to be an everyday player earlier this week.

“I just want to play,” Smith told Anthony Rieber of Newsday. “To be honest, that’s what I want to do. I like where this team is going. I feel like I can impact this team in a number of ways, and that’s being [in the lineup] every day, in my opinion.

“But as a person, being here since I was 22, now I’m 26, and still in the same position. About to be 27. If there’s a team out there that wants me to play and wants to let me play, I would love to play every day. That’s just how I feel about it.”

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