The Red Sox have selected the contract of righty Josh Smith, per a club announcement. He’ll make a start today for the club if the scheduled contest isn’t rained out. Reliever Travis Lakins was optioned down to open active roster space.
Smith, 31, saw 127 1/3 innings of big-league action from 2015-17 but failed to make it back up last year. He owns a 5.30 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 at the game’s highest level. (Note: another hurler by the same name also pitched in the upper minors last year with the Red Sox. He’s now with the Indians.)
Though he has never posted dominating numbers in the upper minors, Smith has struck out better than a batter per nine at the Triple-A level since the start of the 2017 season. He has racked up 23 strikeouts against five walks in 16 2/3 innings in three starts for Pawtucket to open the present season.
The savior for our season!
If he posts something near his career averages that’d put his stats at the second best member of the rotation for the season. (For now)
Wow talking bout scaling the bottom of the barrel.
Good thing Dombrowski didn’t go get any of the actual MLB starting pitchers who ended up signing MiLB contracts. And also smart not signing Gio Gonzalez. This is blatant sarcasm.
Not really true. sox have Erasmo Ramirez at pawtucket that has been a MLB starter and they knew Shawary + Hernandez were close, then 6th SP on hand were Johnson + velazquez. Add to that Steven Wright’s suspension didn’t exactly come real early in the off season when all the people expected to get non MLB deals were available.
3 MLB capable people, in Wright, Johnson, then Velazquez ahead on any potential signee, then a tough looking (on paper) would have been enough for anydecent SP retread to look elsewhere over the winter.
I still don’t believe that Dallas Keuchel and/or Kimbrel wouldn’t be a fit for at least one year so it seems like the Red Sox are definitely going cheap this year but isn’t Boston already over the tax threshold anyway?
How is $246,000,000 cheap
Why?
Every team has a guy like this start a game a few times a year, and each time it happens people comment about it like “Oh man, this guy is the worst, the GM stinks, bla, bla, bla.” Hes basically starting because he’s the guy that’s stretched out on the right amount of rest. That’s the whole story.
Even if he starts, it’s going to rain (heavy at times) in Boston by 8 p.m.
Every time some looney fan whines about a borderline pitcher getting some spot starts… go back and read what people said about Rich Hill bsfore his end of the season stint with the Red Sox a few years ago… and then shut up…
Anyone remember Aaron Small?
Sometimes fans need to remember that these Front Office guys are professionals
And for all the whining, he wasn’t even needed…second very fortuitous rainout for the Sox in a week.
Fortuitous? Thanks to Cora, their starting pitchers are biologically on late March. They actually need the work. Rainouts are making them rustier.