Boston Red Sox right-handed reliever Carson Smith exited Monday’s game after experiencing tightness and cramping in his forearm.
The Boston Red Sox made a series of moves this winter to bolster their bullpen, assembling one of the league’s most dominant core of relievers. Now they just have to get them to the regular season in one piece.
Boston’s bullpen got a bit of a scare when reliever Carson Smith exited Monday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals after facing only one batter in the 7th inning when he experienced cramping and tightness in his right forearm.
John Farrell revealed after the game that the move was precautionary, but Smith will be evaluated further back in Fort Myers tomorrow. While the manager didn’t seem overly concerned at this point, the same can’t be said about the pitcher himself.
"“Of course I’m concerned. It’s my career,” Smith told reporters after the game."
Smith added that he has never experienced tightness on the mound like this before, so this uncharted territory understandably has him fearing the worst. We don’t want to speculate on the severity of any potential injury, but we should find out more in the coming days after the team sends him to have some tests done.
Entering Monday’s game, Smith had tossed four scoreless innings this spring, giving up only two hits and a walk, while striking out four.
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If Smith were to begin the season on the disabled list it would give one of the other right-handed relievers fighting for a spot on the roster a chance to break camp with the team. Matt Barnes has made himself an appealing option with a strong spring, delivering 8.1 shutout innings, allowing only 5 hits, a walk and striking out 9. Steven Wright looks like a strong possibility to start the season in the rotation with Eduardo Rodriguez not expected to be ready in time, so Barnes may be close to locking up a spot in the bullpen regardless of what happens to Smith.
Other potential replacement reliever options include Noe Ramirez and former closer Carlos Marmol. Both of them are sporting a 2.25 ERA, but have also struggled with their control. Marmol has a history of being wild and has walked four batters in only 4 innings of work this spring, which offsets the fact that he’s held opposing hitters to a .200 average. Ramirez has walked six in 8.2 innings, but has also given up 10 hits to produce an ugly 1.85 WHIP. The Red Sox can’t feel very confident in either of these options as a long-term solution if Smith’s injury turns out to be serious, but none of the other fringe options in the mix for one of the final bullpen spots have performed any better.
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The Red Sox will keep their fingers crossed that the forearm discomfort that knocked Smith out of the game turns out to be nothing. Boston’s revamped bullpen is one of the main reasons for optimism heading into this season, but they aren’t nearly as intimidating with Smith.