PORT ST. LUCIE — Buck Showalter said earlier this week that Dominic Smith got “un-Dom-like” last season.

It turns out the Mets first baseman/left fielder may have had a good reason for that: a partially torn labrum in his right shoulder.

Smith said on Friday that it was important to him to play through the injury and not make a big deal about it — he also played through wrist and groin injuries that were previously disclosed — but that he wouldn’t make the same mistake again in the future.

“I’m glad I’m healthy now,” Smith said. “That’s probably something I won’t do in the future, playing [through] stuff like that, because I wasn’t able to play well through it. But I’m just happy that I’m here, I’m happy the Mets still value me and I can’t wait to get out there and play.”

Smith, a potential trade candidate during the offseason, still played in 145 games last season but hit just .244 with 11 home runs and an 84 OPS-plus (100 being league average). It was a far cry from 2019-2020, when he combined to hit .299 with 21 home runs and a 150 OPS-plus across 139 games. While Smith said he also struggled with chasing bad pitches last season, the partially torn labrum also impacted the follow through on his swing.

“If you guys watch video, my whole career I would finish with one arm,” he said. “But last year you would see after the first month, I started finishing with two arms. That was because I had the [subluxation] in my shoulder.

Smith said he has not gotten an MRI exam to see if the labrum has fully healed. But he looked plenty healthy when he hit two home runs off Max Scherzer in a simulated game Wednesday.

The injury — first reported by SI.com — did not require offseason surgery, but instead a mix of rest and physical therapy to strengthen the area around it.

Showalter said Friday he hoped Smith would handle a similar injury situation “differently” if it happens again, but credited him for not using it as an excuse.

“Obviously if I’m in pain I’m not going to try to push it,” Smith said. “But it’s just something as a young kid, my dad always taught me if you can play, if you’re not hurt to the point where you need surgery, then you should go out there and perform. That’s something that’s always stuck with me. I’ve heard of Wally Pipp and that story, so that’s always stuck with me.

“But obviously it affected my play too much last year and it’s something I’m going to be smarter about in the future.”