The Astros have announced a two-year deal to bring back reliever Joe Smith. The deal includes $8MM in guaranteed money, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). Smith is a client of Excel Sports Management.
Smith missed a big chunk of 2019 owing to a torn Achilles, but bounced back with aplomb and threw 25 excellent innings down the stretch. The 35-year-old sidearmer obviously convinced the Houston brass that he has plenty left in the tank.
Though he has rarely been a major strikeout pitcher, Smith has always produced strong groundball numbers. Outside of his tendon tear, he has been quite durable. And he has a long and consistent history of befuddling opposing hitters. In 695 1/3 frames at the game’s highest level, he carries a 2.98 ERA and has yet to finish a season with an ERA over 3.83.
Upon his return last year, Smith sat comfortably in his typical range in terms of velocity and swinging-strike rate. He attacked the zone more than ever and lived to tell the tale, unlike many 2019 pitchers in a longball-laden season.
Despite his relatively late return to action, the Astros had gained full trust by the end of the season. They went to Smith frequently in the postseason, with four appearances each in the ALCS and World Series after a pair of divisional showings. He ultimately allowed three earned runs in 8 2/3 innings.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Under appreciated guy. Never has a bad year. Nice guy. Just does his job.
You missed him pitching for the cubs in 2016! They traded for him at the deadline and be didn’t even make the playoff roster! His ring with the Astros was not his first, even if it was his first playoff experience.
He wasn’t with Houston in ’17, he was an Indian then.
Got him from the Angels and I probably did lose track of him as I got married not long after.
I would just plug him into Cole’s slot. I know he’s a reliever, but he should have no problem following Verlander in the rotation.
Damn I wanted the Mets to bring him back home.
So who mans the can this year?
Hinch?
The day after Braun calls someone an antisemite again so all the attention is on him
Braun yells “Antisemite!” once for a change up and twice for a curveball
highly underrated
Don’t let this distract you from the fact that the Astros team and front office brass conspired to systematically cheat and fraudulently manipulate the league standings and playoff results from 2017 through 2019, for which there will soon be dire penalties from the commissioner’s office.
*insert Astros fan that says they’ll lose 1 draft pick only, and its not a big deal like everyone is making it*
*insert Astros fan that says “theres no evidence plus every team does it. you guys are jealous ” lol
*insert Astros fan that says “theres no evidence plus every team does it. you guys are jealous ” lol !!
You’re on every post about the Astros talking about cheating and get asked about Ryan Braun lying about PEDs to take home an award and then calling his accusers anti-Semites and ignore it. What gives?
an entire team cheating is leaps and bounds bigger than a single insecure guy cheating
He violated the integrity of the game just like they did and to deny that the team was aware is just burying our heads in the sand.
Dude that is after I just told you he deflected and deflected and said that those accusing him were racist people. Is that not deflection to the max?
Everyone’s already aware by now, in the meantime, you can move on with your life.
Has there been anything to suggest it happened in 2018 or 2019?
At the very least, there is anecdotal evidence. Watch the Astros throughout the 2019 playoffs absolutely selling out for certain pitches in certain locations. It was highly unusual. I mean it happens, just not nearly at that frequency.
My favorite one was when little Altuve sold out on that high outside Chapman slider and pulled it out of the stadium. I mean… Lol please
Cmon, you are reaching. You could look at any homerun and say a guy “sold out” for it if you try hard enough. That is not a good argument. Especially when your “favorite” one was a hanging meatball.
No, there is a difference between swinging hard and hitting a bomb vs starting your swing before the pitch is thrown and aligning your entire body to a certain location in the strike zone. You can tell the difference between hitting the ball where it’s pitched and guessing right versus absolutely selling out because you know the outcome before it happens.
Lmao it’s an asinine suggestion dude
The Astros have literally admitted to cheating in 2017 now. So no it’s not asinine to suggest that it was possibly going in 2018 and 2019 too, particularly when that possibility is consistent with what we all saw with our eyes.
No, it’s what you are trying to see. You use anecdotal evidence, so why would they go 0-4 in the WS? Why was the Correa walk off a late swing, not a “sell out”? That doesn’t add up. I get it, you don’t like them. I don’t either. But there’s absolutely nothing to suggest what you are trying to say is real.
Wait, so swinging really hard is what you’re going off of? Sitting on a breaking pitch from a guy that throws gas instead of trying to hit his cheddar? Give me a break. Yeah, he aligned his body getting ready for a certain pitch. He’s also a former batting title holder and hits leader. That he… made good contact and got a hit… is not the hill you want to die on, is it?
Nobody is LOOKING for a slider high and outside. NOBODY. Altuve KNEW what that pitch was going to be. He KNEW it.
Ok and I would argue no pitcher wants to throw one there to a batting title winner for reasons that we just saw. Hang it, and they bang it. That is a rule of pitching for anyone who played past, like, twelve year old pony leagues. Like no hanging breaking ball has ever gotten clobbered before, ok dude. Us kids and our darn hitting approaches in a short porch left field. Yeah no the Astros are really guilty and it’s because they hit a home run in 2019. Gotcha.
Why do Yankee fans so badly want to make stuff up. You lost on a meatball. That’s it. It might’ve been the worst pitch sequence of the playoffs. You’re embarrassing yourselves with your excuses. A batter isn’t looking for a floating slider to crush when the pitcher is known for fastballs? Is that not the only thing you’re looking for? Or is it because it happened against you? Like come on.
We did not even call anyone a Yankees fan in this thread. So anyone who dissents to these made-up and worn-out points is a fanboy? And then their logic is bad and they have no right to talk but a Yankees fan could, even though they have the same emotional investment? Sure thing dude. This doesn’t even get into the juiced-up bombers teams in the late 90s. Yeah the Yankees and the rest of the MLB are squeaky clean. They even got popped for this same thing, that is, using tech to get an advantage.
Stop making up excuses and deflecting the real issue here. Astros systematically cheated to a HUGE extent. 2017 WS Championship should be stripped and Jose Altuve should be stripped of his MVP award the same season. Honestly DISGUSTED with Astros fans.
If the Astros don’t get punished you will be vindicated. Otherwise you will receive the ridicule you seem to desire.
Ok and you can sling accusations at me but you also aren’t proving anything, just like I can’t prove you cheated on anything in your life either. So all this does is make Yankees fans look like sore losers. Again, without providing any proof that the Astros cheated in the 2019 ALCS, which is the source of all this vitriol. Never addressed the Yankees getting popped in 2017, never addressed that Altuve was a good hitter for several years before taking their beloved closer deep (Altuve is not a pull hitter only, stop spreading lies and look at a spray chart, he doesn’t get that many hits by yanking it), never addressing Correa’s home run, never addressed the ban on live feeds after 2017. So wow, I’m so devastated, guys. More hot air talking points and attacks on fans instead of real issues.
Never did anything in high school??? Listen to yourself. To answer your question except in perspective, no me and my entire high school class did not conspire with our school administration to develop a software to rig the results of the SAT and then accept top academic honors worldwide acting as if we earned it.
Dude I didn’t even say one way or the other, that was you, and you’re also the one comparing a high school conspiracy to the MLB. Take some deep breaths and go look at the moon and then come back and address the points we politely laid out for you.
It is hilarious how triggered you are by this. It looks like you’ve made about 50 comments on this thread alone. I mean lol. I can’t wait to see what the commissioner’s office has to say about it
Dude you were typing in all caps getting mad at Altuve for hitting a hanger “out of the stadium” like it never happened before. That’s projecting just a little if I had to imagine. What’s wrong with asking questions in a thread? You keep dodging and I keep asking.
John Luke – First, I am an Angels fan so no Astros bias.
They will never strip their WS title, nor should they. There is no way to prove that their actions directly and specifically resulted in their WS win. In this case, the batter still has to hit the ball, which is hard to do. Same with Altuve’s MVP. It won’t be stripped. There is no way to parse his incredible talent and any success he had through a scheme of sign stealing. This is MLBs problem. They will handle it appropriately.
Just wait and see. I think you’ll be surprised what MLB will do to make an example of a coordinated cheating effort. I’m almost certain the length and effort put into cheating goes far beyond what any of you are fathoming right now.
You seem to be taking this very personally, John Luke. Wrong is wrong and should be punished but keep it in perspective. These are all just opinions being expressed, including yours. No one on this board has special insight so let’s see what MLB finds and decides to do as a result. I don’t want you to be overly distraught when the punishment isn’t severe enough by your standards.
Not taking it personally,I just think the Astros have ruined the integrity of the last few seasons.
Think about this: how much money did Yu Darvish lose due to the Astros cheating in the WS? How many young pitchers were sent down after the Astros cheated against them…never to get called up again?
This honestly calls into question the validity of the Astros success, Bregmans success, Altuves success and honestly, they don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. These guys have no integrity and don’t deserve the league to go easy on them.
They have to prove everyone agreed to conspire to cheat before they decide who to punish and to what extent. In reality, I believe any manager or coach who helped implement the scheme should be suspended for the 2020 season. Players are a more difficult problem because many of them play for other teams now. Their suspension would penalize their current team, both personnel-wise and financially. So I think for players who are proven to be instrumental in the scheme should be fined severely. Maybe a suspension if they are still on the Astros roster. Same with coaches/managers who are on differnt teams now. The punishments can’t affect another team. So it’s kind of a trick bag for MLB in my opinion.
“I cheated one year, that’s enough, I’m not going to do it anymore,” said no one ever…
Live feeds were disabled after 2017 because the Yankees and Sox already got busted. What say you on that? But yeah a guy threw a hanger and got blasted. Is that seriously the pitch you want to use as your battering ram? You both sound like you got picked last for stickball with that logic.
was that your “intimidation”?
It’s a line from a movie. Is that your “comeback”?
STOP being so damn ignorant to the scope and impact of the cheating. You guys are seriously trying to defend and are dismissive of the effect of knowing the type of pitch that is being thrown. Obviously they continued cheating after 2017 as proven by videos. Disgusting to call yourselves fans of the sport.
You guys just said “obviously” and pointed to Jose Altuve, an award winning offensive player, annihilating a hanging breaking ball off a closer who throws two pitches, one of which it’s well-known that guys can sit on the softer stuff. Either present some more evidence and respond to the points that other comments have given, like Carlos Correa *not* connecting as well on his walkoff homer off Happ in game 2, or just go for a walk for a while and cool down.
That’s correct. We are talking about a non-power hitter PULLING a HIGH OUTSIDE BREAKING BALL not over the fence but OVER THE STADIUM
Yankees did not get busted. The Red Sox were busted.
Altuve is an award winning CHEATER. That’s all.
And there we go, people on Internet forums getting mad and tough and “this guy must be trolling because he disagreed with me.” We said: if the Astros cheated in 2019, your insistence on using Altuve’s jack is flimsy, and laid out the reasons. Then, you said, Astros fans are horrible and justifying cheating. How are we the ones being toxic or trolling by asking for some better examples or proof that Altuve knew what pitch was coming other than “he hit it a long way”? I guess my username worked because this little example alone was enough to make you call us trolls and idiots because we didn’t agree with you. Go to bed, get some rest, take a shower, come back stronger the next day, man. Because you can give better circumstantial claims than this.
Stop lying, that ball was over the plate, and Altuve’s reach is very good for his size. Especially when a ball hangs so badly. Pitchers and hitters alike know this. It’s why the emphasis is on keeping breaking pitches down in the first place. How do you think he made so much contact in his career? This includes his seasons with the Lastros too, so don’t even go on about cameras. Chapman made a bad pitch and he knew it. Watch his reaction, just like when Mariano knew he did the same thing back in the day.
All we did was ask for better evidence that they cheated in 2019, man, no need to call us names. I just said, in accordance with this thread, that I don’t think the Altuve homer off Chapman shows cheating. That case is based entirely on assumptions right now.. That was the main subject and that is what you came into a conversation about. I asked for other cases in 2019 that show the Astros were going outside the rules to get an advantage, especially when live feeds were not allowed after 2017 because the Red Sox and Yankees were fined for getting advantages from them. Do not bring up whistling, as they were already cleared. Does it really make you feel better putting down fans who disagree with you on the internet? Come on.
Dude. If they’re saying 60 people have talked and there’s 76000 emails, what more evidence do you think there is? The team has no choice but to come clean or face harsher punishment. Guarantee there is way more evidence than you think there is, considering the 70k emails. Prepare to put both feet in your mouth.
At this point Manfred said they’re reinterviewing people. By that, they mean they’re giving a chance for those people lying in the beginning to come clean before they lay down the hammer on them. I bet there’s a ton of admissions and evidence after the investigation is disclosed. If you can’t figure that out from what has been released, you are in complete denial.
… ok? And that has what to do with Altuve hitting a slider into 2020? I asked for more evidence, you said, wait for evidence, but then insists that it makes me an idiot for requesting more evidence. So sorry if I’m not eager to just come to your side, compadre. I know I have to wait, but I was asking what other fans thought the Astros were doing to cheat. Didn’t ask for this fist-waving and you’ll-be-sorry assurances. But, thanks? I guess? Not really. But, if you’re satisfied then that’s cool.
You didn’t read the report where the Astros have already admitted to the cheating? Really? Biased much?
Yeah, in 2017. And their reason was definitely sketchy but I guess that’s how it goes in MLB. It’s also why I wanted to know, outside of an article written by a New York writer and focused on 2017, if there were any clear-cut cases of cheating since then. It’s what I’ve asked for over and over.
Evidence: ASTROS HAVE ADMITTED TO THE CHEATING.
That’s your evidence you non-objective Astros homer.
Why aren’t you condemning the prior cheating? Jose Altuve should be stripped of his MVP. Why do they get the benefit of the doubt when they admitted to cheating?
So non objective bias, ridiculous.
You’ll be one of those people who talks crap until the evidence comes out then you’ll disappear never to be heard from again.
I don’t think we’re getting anywhere because I asked for cases of more recent cheating that Yankees fans are touting. So far instead of those, I got called a bunch of names. Yeah, I’m waiting for the report to go out. Yeah, 2017. But I’m talking past you right now and it’s really just spinning the tires.
Is Braun stripped of the MVP? No. So I don’t get how this sets a new precedent. Aaron Judge is still spotless after the Yankees got fined for infractions that year. We don’t know the extent of the cheating and should wait for a full report, is what I’ve been saying. But instead of being patient, you keep attacking. Are you ok? Cheating sucks, yeah, but to strip titles for it is NCAA-level treatment and it’s not what’s been done before. So yeah I think it’s an overreaction.
Steroids is subjective as far as performance enhancement and you can’t prove exactly when someone was on or off them.
Actively stealing signs compromises the entire integrity of the batter hitter dynamic and gives a ridiculously unfair advantage to the hitter if they know exactly what pitch is coming. The Astros admitted to cheating during the 2017 season which means Altuves entire season is entirely compromised from a performance perspective.
Either one represents a bad violation because you also can’t say (until the report comes out) how often this method was used to steal signs and alert batters of the pitch. In the case of PEDs, they are going to heighten your recovery and sharpness for the whole season continuously, or however long he was on them. That he chose to respond by calling his accusers anti-Semites is just the icing on the cake. You can’t just take one and then deride the other. This selectively extreme reinforcement of policy is why Pete Rose is banned from the game that he played an instrumental role in publicizing. So either come down hard on people who go outside the rules, or don’t.
Comparatively, live sign stealing would be much more effective than being on steroids.
I can tell you’re being completely biased and non objective because you keep doing the ol’ “Well so-and-so did this and they did that”
Stop deferring to other things and address what is going on with this situation. Nothing like this has ever been found on this level before. There is no comparison and stop saying there is.
Except…. there has? In 2017 the Red Sox got fined for using Apple Watches. The Yankees received a smaller fine for using a dugout phone (whether it was for that season or not, I am not sure, and admittedly don’t know). This has happened before, but you are singling out the Astros, and my first guess is that it’s because their team-building is simply better than the Yankees over the past half-decade, which leads to postseason victories. But, I won’t assume that because I get that there’s outrage. But no, it has happened, and frankly you don’t know what level it was on. So stop acting like you’re Manfred, dude. It’s not scaring anyone on the Internet and you’re not dunking on anyone and making me feel bad if the Astros are guilty, because it’s a game. You also cannot say the effectiveness of PEDs. You do not know that for sure at all and I would venture to say you aren’t a professional athlete. Sign stealing does not make PEDs okay, and vice versa. We can probably agree on that. I am talking about precedents for how to respond rule violations. Actually, I was asking how the Astros could be proved cheating based on what fans have seen after the 2017 season, but I will not get that answer from you, and I know that.
All you are proving is that you are a completely biased and apologetic Astros fan. You make up any excuse, rationale to make it seem like the Astros didn’t really do anything that bad or if they did something really bad, then it really wasn’t that effective in some way.
I can tell you don’t understand baseball because knowing what pitch is coming takes a huge advantage away from a pitcher. Ask a pitcher if they would rather have a batter be on steroids or using a corked bat, or would they rather allow the hitter to know exactly what pitch is coming. Guarantee they would agree that pitch guessing is more powerful than any tools that could be used against it. If you have to guess at the pitch, doesn’t matter if you’re on roids or have a corked bat.
Seriously. Stop being an excuse maker for the Astros. Stop being a justifier. Stop being apologetic or trying to redirect blame. You’re making the Astros fan base look like ignorant stubborn morons.
I seriously can’t wait for them to levy huge punishments for what you consider to be not that big of a deal. They deserve it, and you deserve to be embarrassed for saying the absolutely idiotic things you have been saying.
Theres at least one video, put out by Jomboy I believe, that appears to show the activity in April or May 2019. It was vs the Yankees and if I recall correctly Loaisiga was pitching
Oof, I need Tommy John after looking at his arm in the lede photo.
Beautiful thing.
Ah man. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to essentially copy your comment. My fault
I was coming on here to make the same comment. Mine was gonna be “I think I need TJ just from looking at that pic”
All good! I liked your comment, so we’ll call it a “who wore it better” situation.
Way to go Mets letting all of these relief pitchers sign today when they need some.
The picture in the app is a perfect example of why surgery is needed to often lol
Theres no aplomb in Baseball.
I question the use of ‘aplomb’ as well – sure, if it were you and me, but it’s not a tremendously exceptional task for a major league pitcher to pitch in the major leagues.
Some pitch with a plan,
Some give up a bomb,
Joe Smith is the man,
Who pitches with aplomb.
Who would still want to be an Astro is beyond me.. they should be embarrassed
What, nobody dancing to your tune?
What tune? I like to dance!
I like to dance to the beat of my own trash can.
I wonder how many side arm pitchers need Tommy John surgery. It always felt easier on the arm to me.
Who cares about cheating Astros
Baseball fans
Other than Astros fans, only Red Sox fans defend them. Wonder why that is? Just curious.
I heard a rumor that he likes to eat bananas with the peel on. Just dives right in and bites them!
Irrelevant Astros
Yet you have at least 4 comments on a post about them, boy I tell ya! LMAO
Your lousy team doesn’t have Altuve, Correa, Springer, Brantley, Bregman, Gurriel, Reddick and Alvarez for a starting lineup and Verlander and Greinke at the top of its rotation. Irrelevant my behind. The Stros will once again be in the World Series while your team inspects trash cans and is paranoid about flashing lights.
Ha! Love it.
Now go get Harris back and a lefty!
Houston should only be allowed to re-sign players. Free Agency should be basically prohibited there for a year or two.
You wish don’t you
We are hot stove baseball junkies and we will NOT stand for your aplombness !
Jose CHEATUVE needs to be stripped of his 2017 MVP award.
Tyler Durden: Oh, I get it. It’s very clever.
John Luke: Thank you.
Tyler Durden: How’s that working out for you?
John Luke: What?
Tyler Durden: Being clever
You don’t agree? If Jose Altuve admitted to cheating during the 2017 season, that invalidates his stats, right? Shouldn’t be eligible for an award if you cheat.
Yankees were fined for cheating in 2017 for using a dugout phone outside the rules and Judge still accepted ROY.
No, no. Don’t be mad. Just admiring your work. Cheatuve… that’s very clever. How’s that working out for you?
Could you have found a photo where it doesn’t look like he’s breaking a damn radius or ulna. That’s not dirty! Them bones, as Layne Staley said.
Played with him in High School in Cincy
Always studied our opponents and was professional (even as a teenager)
Everyone on the team knew he would make it in the majors
Good for him, super proud
Why sign with the Houston Cheaters?
I need Tommy John surgery just looking at that picture.