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Burch Smith

Pirates Sign Burch Smith, Bryce Johnson To Minor League Deals

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The Pirates announced a slate of 13 non-roster invitees to spring training Monday, revealing within that they’ve signed right-hander Burch Smith and outfielder Bryce Johnson to minor league contracts.

Smith, 35 in April, split the 2024 season between the Marlins and Orioles, pitching to a combined 4.95 ERA with a below-average 19.1% strikeout rate but a superlative 5% walk rate. The Truth Sports client averaged 94.9 mph on his heater and kept the ball on the ground at a 43.9% clip that’s nearly two percentage points north of the league average of 42.2%.

Originally a 14th-round pick by the Padres back in 2011, Smith has pitched for seven big league teams across parts of six major league seasons. He’s pitched all over the globe, including a brief appearance with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization in 2023, a solid run with the Seibu Lions in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball in 2022, and some work with los Gigantes de Cibao in the Dominican Winter League as well.

In 247 1/3 big league innings, Smith has a 5.79 ERA, although it’s worth pointing out that the 2024 version of Smith looks far different from the version we saw in the majors between 2013-21. He’s throwing harder than he ever did early in his career, when he averaged 93.1 mph on his fastball from 2013-21. He’s also scrapped his changeup and sinker — both offerings he once leaned upon heavily — in favor of a four-pitch mix including a four-seamer, cutter, curveball and sweeper (used in that order of frequency). Smith’s ground-ball rate climbed by more than eight percentage points with that new-look arsenal, while his 5% walk rate was less than half the 10.1% rate he showed over his first five MLB campaigns.

Smith will give the Bucs some veteran bullpen depth and compete for one of the final spots in Pittsburgh’s relief corps this spring. At least five spots feel locked into place with now with David Bednar, Colin Holderman, Dennis Santana, Carmen Mlodzinski and free-agent signee Caleb Ferguson all staking their claim.

Righty Kyle Nicolas was solid for 54 1/3 innings last year (3.95 ERA) but walked too many hitters (12.8%) and has minor league options remaining. DFA pickups Joey Wentz (claimed last September) and Peter Strzelecki (acquired for cash this offseason) are both out of minor league options and will need to make the Opening Day club or else be removed from the 40-man roster themselves. Others in the running could include Elvis Alvarado (on the 40-man roster) and non-roster invitees Yohan Ramirez, Tanner Rainey, Yerry Rodriguez, Isaac Mattson and Eddy Yean.

Turning to the 29-year-old Johnson, he’ll give Pittsburgh some depth at a corner outfield spot where they’ve been seeking help throughout the offseason. He’s played in each of the past three big league seasons, spending time with both the Giants and Padres, but carries a tepid .177/.248/.226 slash over a small sample of 140 major league plate appearances.

Those numbers clearly don’t impress, but Johnson also had his best Triple-A season in 2024, hitting .288/.407/.431 with the Padres’ El Paso affiliate. He’s played in parts of four Triple-A campaigns and touts a sharp .286/.381/.429 slash. Johnson is lacking in power — he hasn’t reached a double-digit homer total since hitting ten round-trippers across three minor league levels in 2019 — but he’s been a fleet-footed on-base machine in the minors. The former sixth-rounder (Giants, 2017) has walked in 10.9% of his minor league plate appearances, including an 11.6% clip in his four Triple-A seasons. He’s 181-for-226 in minor league stolen base attempts (80%) and has a trio of 30-steal seasons under his belt. Last year, he went 20-for-23 in just 74 games at the Triple-A level.

As things stand, the Pittsburgh outfield will have Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz locked into two of the three spots (with Cruz set in center field, in particular). Joshua Palacios, Jack Suwinski, Ji Hwan Bae and Billy Cook are all on the 40-man roster and hoping for outfield at-bats. The Pirates have also been looking outside the organization, though, with recent reports indicating interest in Alex Verdugo and Randal Grichuk.

Burch Smith, Daniel Johnson Elect Free Agency

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The Orioles announced that right-hander Burch Smith and outfielder Daniel Johnson have both elected free agency rather than accept outright assignments. There hadn’t been any reporting about either player being removed from the roster but apparently the O’s quietly passed each through waivers quietly in recent days.

Smith, 34, started the year on a minor league deal with the Rays. He had an upward mobility clause in that deal and triggered it at the end of spring training, getting flipped to the Marlins. He stuck with the Fish through the middle of June before getting released and landing with the O’s.

Between those two clubs, he managed to toss 56 1/3 innings this year, allowing 4.95 earned runs per nine. His 19% strikeout rate was subpar but his 5% walk rate was quite strong and his 43.8% ground ball rate around league average. His 63.2% strand rate was a bit on the unlucky side, which was a factor in his 3.66 FIP and 3.79 SIERA being more than a run better than his ERA.

The O’s could have retained Smith via arbitration for 2025, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $1.6MM salary next year. It appears the O’s didn’t have any intention of doing that, so they put Smith on waivers as an effective early non-tender.

Players with at least three years of service time or a previous career outright have the right to reject further outright assignments and elect free agency. Smith qualifies on both counts and chose to exercise his right.

Some things last a long time but not Johnson’s tenure on the Baltimore roster. He signed a minor league deal with the club in the offseason and had his contract selected on September 21. He got into that day’s game as a pinch runner and later grounded out. He was optioned the next day, making that his only plate appearance of the season.

He has a fairly limited major league track record, also spending some time with Cleveland in 2020 and 2021. He hit 21 home runs in exactly 500 plate appearances at Triple-A this year and slashed .259/.320/.448, but that actually translated to a subpar 97 wRC+ in this year’s inflated offensive environment in the International League.

Johnson still has less than a year of service time and could have been cheaply retained for next year but the O’s decided to move on instead. As a player with a previous career outright, he has the right to reject further outright assignments and exercised that right to return to the open market.

Orioles Activate Danny Coulombe From Injured List

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The Orioles announced they’ve activated lefty reliever Danny Coulombe from the 60-day injured list. Baltimore placed Burch Smith on the 15-day IL, retroactive to September 18, to open a spot in the bullpen. Smith was diagnosed with a right adductor (groin) strain. The O’s already had a trio of openings on the 40-man roster, which sits at 38 following Coulombe’s reinstatement.

It’s a potentially big boost to Brandon Hyde’s bullpen with a little more than a week before the postseason. Coulombe has been out since the middle of June with an elbow injury that necessitated surgery to remove bone chips. Prior to the injury, the 34-year-old had been one of Hyde’s most trusted relievers. He’d rewarded that faith with 26 innings of 2.42 ERA ball behind a 30.4% strikeout percentage and a tiny 3.3% walk rate.

This was shaping up as a second straight excellent season for Coulombe. The O’s brought him aboard with little fanfare in Spring Training 2023. Coulombe had been in camp with the Twins on a minor league contract. Minnesota didn’t want to carry him on the MLB roster, so Baltimore acquired him for cash considerations and added him to their Opening Day club. He tossed 51 1/3 innings with a 2.81 earned run average and similarly strong strikeout (27.6%) and walk (5.7%) numbers. Coulombe owns a 2.68 mark over 77 1/3 frames in an O’s uniform.

The O’s have had a subpar second half, dropping four games back of the Yankees in the process. The bullpen has played a role in that. Baltimore relievers rank 24th in the majors with a 4.69 ERA since the All-Star Break. They’ve had a generally strong strikeout and walk profile but given up a few too many home runs. Coulombe has done a nice job avoiding the longball throughout his career, allowing less than one home run per nine innings. He joins Keegan Akin, Cionel Pérez and Gregory Soto as left-handed options in the late innings.

Orioles Select Burch Smith

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The Orioles announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Burch Smith from Triple-A Norfolk. Fellow righty Dillon Tate was optioned to Norfolk in a corresponding move. Baltimore already had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so a 40-man move wasn’t necessary.

The 34-year-old Smith signed with the O’s on a minor league deal two weeks ago. He’s pitched a pair of shutout innings for the Tides during his brief Triple-A stint in the organization, fanning a pair and only allowing one hit along the way. He also tossed 29 2/3 innings out of the Marlins’ bullpen earlier this season and worked to a solid 4.25 ERA — albeit with a subpar 17% strikeout rate. However, Smith also walked only 6.7% of his opponents and kept the ball on the ground at a hearty 47% clip.

That marked Smith’s first big league work since 2021. He spent the 2022 season with the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and the 2023 season with the Korea Baseball Organization’s Hanwha Eagles. A former 11th-round pick, Smith has pitched in parts of six big league seasons between the Padres, A’s, Royals, Giants, Brewers and Marlins, logging a combined 5.79 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate.

As for Tate, he was a key member of the Baltimore bullpen in 2022, when he pitched 73 2/3 innings of 3.05 ERA ball for manager Brandon Hyde. He opened the 2023 season on the injured list due to a flexor strain, however, and when he’d progressed to the point that he was ready for a rehab assignment, he suffered a stress reaction in his elbow that led to a second shutdown. He wound up missing the entire 2023 season as a result of those two injuries.

Now healthy, Tate was enjoying a strong season up through mid-June before hitting a substantial rough patch. As recently as June 19, Tate was sitting on a sparkling 2.31 ERA. A poor 15.6% strikeout rate suggested he would have a hard time sustaining quite that level of success, but Tate sported an average walk rate and huge 56.3% grounder rate. Regression indeed came — and far more aggressively than anyone could’ve reasonably predicted. He’s been scored upon in three straight appearances and has given up runs in six of his past eight outings. Dating back to June 19, Tate has a 9.90 ERA (11 runs in 10 innings).

The move to option Tate comes not long before he’d have been granted the right to refuse such an assignment. The former No. 4 overall pick entered the season with 4.048 years of MLB service and has run that total up to 4.128 years. With just 44 more days on the active roster or injured list, he’d reach five years of service. At that point, he’d have to consent to being optioned.

So long as Tate gets 44 more days on the active roster or injured list between now and season’s end, he’ll remain on track to become a free agent following the 2025 season. If, however, he’s up for 43 or fewer days, he’ll finish the season with four-plus years instead of five-plus and have his path to free agency pushed back by a year.

Orioles Sign Niko Goodrum, Burch Smith To Minor League Deals

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The Orioles announced the signing of utility player Niko Goodrum and reliever Burch Smith to minor league contracts. Both players hit free agency last week — Goodrum after clearing outright waivers by the Pirates, Smith upon being released by the Marlins.

Goodrum is on his fifth organization of the season. He has bounced between the Twins, Rays, Angels and Pirates going back to Spring Training. The switch-hitter has appeared in 13 big league contests split between Tampa Bay and Los Angeles. He’s hitting .103/.188/.103 with 10 strikeouts and three walks. Goodrum has logged 75 Triple-A plate appearances with a far superior .270/.387/.444 slash. He has drawn 11 walks with three home runs in that limited sample.

The 32-year-old Goodrum has appeared in parts of seven MLB campaigns. He’s a career .224/.297/.383 hitter over nearly 1600 big league plate appearances. Goodrum played a portion of the 2023 season in Korea, turning in a .295/.373/.387 batting line in 201 trips to the plate. He provides a depth option at virtually every position outside of catcher and center field.

Smith, 34, pitched 29 2/3 innings with the Marlins this year. The right-hander was in camp with the Rays on a non-roster contract before leveraging an upward mobility clause into an MLB look in Miami. Smith pitched in mostly low-leverage situations out of Skip Schumaker’s bullpen. He turned in a 4.25 earned run average behind a solid 47% grounder percentage. He didn’t miss many bats, though, striking out 17% of batters faced with a meager 8.6% swinging strike rate.

That stint in Miami was Smith’s first big league action in three years. He also had a brief stay in Korea last season but only made one start before suffering a shoulder injury. His velocity returned this season, as he averaged a solid 94.4 MPH on his four-seam fastball. He’ll head to Triple-A Norfolk and try to pitch his way into a middle relief role at Camden Yards.

Marlins Release Burch Smith

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The Marlins have released right-hander Burch Smith, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That was the expected outcome after he was designated for assignment a week ago. He’s now a free agent and can sign with any club.

Smith, 34, signed a minor league deal with the Rays in the offseason. He didn’t crack that club’s Opening Day roster but had an upward mobility clause in his contract. Such a clause meant that the Rays had to send him to another team if any of them wanted to give Smith a roster spot. The Marlins wanted him and so the Rays traded him for cash considerations.

The righty went to make 25 appearances with the Fish with a 4.25 earned run average and subpar strikeout rate of 17%. However, his 6.7% walk rate and 47% ground ball rate were both a few ticks better than average. A .376 batting average on balls in play may have pushed some extra runs across the plate, which is why his 3.04 FIP and 4.00 SIERA were both more pleasant than his ERA. The Marlins are one of the worst defensive clubs this year, as their -24 Outs Above Average is dead last and their -19 Defensive Runs Saved is better than just three clubs.

Perhaps Smith would have fared better in different circumstances but he got nudged off the roster regardless, likely not helped by allowing five earned runs in his final three appearances before getting designated for assignment a week ago.

Smith came into this season with his service time count at four years and 92 days, putting him 80 shy of the five-year mark. He hit that line on June 15, the day after he was designated for assignment, as players still collect service time while in DFA limbo. By getting over that mark, he earned the right to reject an outright assignment while retaining all of his $1MM salary. Unless some club wanted to grab him off waivers, he was bound for the open market, which prompted the Marlins to release him.

Now that he’s freely available, he could attract interest from clubs looking to make a low-cost buy. The Marlins remain on the hook for what remains of that salary, while another club could sign him and only have to pay him the prorated version of the league minimum for any time spent on the roster. That amount would be subtracted from what the Fish pay.

Perhaps one of the other teams will feel Smith could find a bit more success with some better batted ball luck or by pitching in front of a better defense. If so, he could be grabbed for a minimal cost and no real commitment.

Marlins Designate Burch Smith For Assignment

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The Marlins announced Friday that right-hander Burch Smith has been designated for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to fellow righty Shaun Anderson, who has been recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville.

Smith, 34, has pitched 29 2/3 innings out of the Miami bullpen this season and logged a respectable 4.25 earned run average with a subpar 17% strikeout rate but strong walk and ground-ball rates of 6.7% and 47%, respectively. He’s hit a rough patch of late, however, yielding five runs over his past 4 1/3 innings. Opponents have scored against him in three straight appearances.

This run with Miami marked Smith’s first big league work since the 2021 season. He spent the 2022 season with Japan’s Seibu Lions and the 2023 campaign with the Korea Baseball Organization’s Hanwha Eagles. Smith has previously pitched for the Padres, Royals, Brewers, Giants and A’s. In all, he’s pitched 220 2/3 innings at the MLB level and recorded a 5.79 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate.

Burch signed with the Rays on a minor league deal back in January but exercised an upward mobility clause in that contract — a clause intended to give veteran players on minor league deals the option to opt out of their contract if another team is willing to place him on its 40-man roster. That scenario played out late in spring, when the Marlins showed interest in Smith. He made their Opening Day roster and has generally been used in low-leverage settings this season.

Smith will surpass five years of service time while in DFA limbo, meaning even if he goes unclaimed on waivers, he’ll have the right to reject an outright assignment and retain the remainder of this year’s $1MM salary. Miami will either trade him, release him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers within the next week.

Marlins To Acquire Burch Smith, Select Him To 40-Man Roster

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Right-hander Burch Smith has exercised an upward mobility clause in his minor league contract with the Rays and will sign a major league contract with the Marlins, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Upward mobility clauses allow players on minor league deals to gauge interest from other teams on a set date. If there’s interest from another club in adding said player to the 40-man roster, his current club must either add him to its own 40-man roster or allow him to join that new team. In this instance, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Smith is being traded to the Marlins in exchange for what are surely nominal cash considerations.

It seems the Rays weren’t willing to add to Smith to their own 40-man at this time, so he’ll instead join the Miami organization. The Fish already have an open spot on their 40-man roster at the moment after placing righty Huascar Brazoban on the restricted list yesterday while he works through a visa issue. Smith does have a minor league option remaining, so while he’ll go on Miami’s 40-man, it’s not a given that he’ll begin the season in the majors. He’ll earn at a $1MM rate in the big leagues with the Marlins and can pick up another $250K of incentives, per Sherman.

Smith, 34 next month, has more than four years of MLB service time and has also spent time pitching in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and in the Korea Baseball Organization. He last appeared in the majors in 2021, when he tossed 43 1/3 innings for the A’s but scuffled to a 5.40 ERA. The right-hander has at times shown flashes of potential in the big leagues but has yet to establish himself as a consistent contributor despite stints with the Padres, Royals, Brewers, Giants and A’s. He carries a 6.03 ERA in 191 MLB frames.

Lack of MLB success notwithstanding, Smith has drawn interest from clubs throughout his career due to strong minor league numbers and encouraging traits on several of his pitches. Even though his career 21.3% strikeout rate is a bit shy of league-average, he’s previously posted above-average swinging-strike rates that could be viewed as a portent for more punchouts. Smith yielded five runs in 5 1/3 spring frames with Tampa Bay, but he notched a huge 17.6% swinging-strike rate in camp, which perhaps piqued Miami’s interest.

Though Smith has never thrown an MLB pitch for the Rays, this spring marked his second stint with the club. He went from the Padres to the Rays back 2014 as part of the three-team blockbuster that more famously sent Wil Myers to San Diego and Trea Turner to Washington. The Rays lost him in the Rule 5 Draft the following year, but current Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix was part of Tampa Bay’s front office at the time the Rays originally acquired Smith.

Smith will give the Marlins some optionable depth to step into Brazoban’s recently vacated spot on the 40-man roster. Miami also has righty JT Chargois and nearly an entire rotation’s worth of quality starting pitchers — Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, Braxton Garrett and Edward Cabrera — on the injured list to begin the season.

Latest On Rays’ Roster Plans

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6:15pm: Topkin adds that each of Uwasawa, Brantly, and Smith have upward mobility clauses in their contracts rather than traditional opt outs, meaning that each can request to be made available to the other 29 clubs, at which point if a club agrees to give a given player an active roster spot the Rays will have the choice between adding the player to their 40-man roster or trading him to the interested team. Per Topkin, Brantly, Uwasawa and Smith have all told the Rays that they wish to use their assignment clauses.

10:57am: The Rays reassigned right-handers Naoyuki Uwasawa, Burch Smith, and Joe Record, catchers Francisco Mejia and Rob Brantly, and outfielder Jake Mangum to their minor league camp on Friday.  Manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that while none of the six players would be making the Opening Day roster, the Rays were hoping the entire group would remain as minor league depth.

Uwasawa, Smith, and Brantly have some say in their futures, as each of the trio can opt out of their minor league contracts if they aren’t included on the big league roster.  Erasmo Ramirez is another veteran in camp on a minors deal, yet Topkin reports that Ramirez will report to Triple-A and pass on exercising his opt-out clause.

Uwasawa is perhaps the most interesting name in the group, as the 30-year-old is making the jump to MLB after nine seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.  The righty signed a split contract with the Rays that will pay him $2.5MM in the majors and $225K for his time in the minors, as well as a $25K signing bonus and $1MM worth of incentive clauses that would start to kick in if Uwasawa pitched at least 70 big league innings this season.

Though Uwasawa was offered guaranteed contracts by other MLB teams, he chose Tampa Bay “because the success and the rich history of pitching development really intrigued me,” as the right-hander said in a statement at the time of his signing.  It isn’t yet clear if Uwasawa will now stay with the Rays, as he told Topkin (X link) that he would be speaking with his agent to weigh options, including opting out if another team is willing to give him a clearer shot at pitching in the bigs.

Uwasawa didn’t help his case for a roster spot by posting a 13.03 ERA over four appearances and 9 2/3 innings in Spring Training, though he looked a lot sharper in his most recent Grapefruit League outing — he held the Orioles to one run on four hits and a walk over four innings on March 15.  As both Topkin and Cash noted, some adjustment time was inevitable for Uwasawa in his first exposure to the North American style of baseball.

With Brantly and Mejia now cut, it essentially finalizes Alex Jackson’s expected role as the Rays’ backup catcher behind Rene Pinto.  The catching position has long been both a revolving door and a question mark for the Rays, and Topkin feels another backstop might still be added if the Rays like another name who might become available as rival teams also shed players from their spring rosters.

Rays Sign Burch Smith To Minor League Deal

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The Rays announced today that they have signed right-hander Burch Smith to a minor league deal with an invitation to major league camp.

Smith, 34 in April, has 191 innings of major league experience, scattered across various seasons from 2013 to 2021. He has a 6.03 earned run average in that time, though his 4.93 FIP and 4.38 SIERA suggest he deserved much better. That may be a reflection of his .322 batting average on balls in play and 67.5% strand rate, both of which are on the unlucky side of average.

He has spent the past two years overseas, joining the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for the 2022 season. He tossed 38 1/3 innings for the Lions with a 3.29 ERA, then joined the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization for 2023. Unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder strain early in the year and was released in mid-April. KBO teams are only allowed three roster spots for foreign players so it’s not uncommon for them to be released and replaced if they suffer a significant injury.

More recently, Smith got back on the mound when he joined Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League. He has thrown 14 1/3 innings for that club with a 2.51 ERA, striking out 33.9% of batters faced while walking just 5.1%. That’s a small sample but Smith has generally been able to rack up strikeouts at Triple-A in his career, punching out 26.2% of hitters at that level. Now that he’s healthy and pitching well, he’ll head into camp with the Rays and try to earn his way back into the big leagues. If he is able to do so, he still has an option remaining, which could be attractive to a Rays club which is one of the league’s most aggressive with roster churn.

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