Red Sox activate Carson Smith off of the disabled list

The Boston Red Sox have activated relief pitcher Carson Smith off of the disabled list. He will return in hopes of stabilizing an up-and-down bullpen staff.

Carson Smith debuted with the Boston Red Sox in 2016 and totaled 2 2/3 innings before being shut down by injuries. Unfortunately, in 2017, not much as changed considering Smith has yet to appear in a major league game.

Smith was brought to Boston sporting a short, dominant track record. He had 78 1/3 innings under his belt while maintaining a 2.07 earned run average. Because of his high-leverage capability, Smith was expected to be the set-up reliever in the eighth inning while closer, Craig Kimbrel, shut the door in the ninth. However, the Red Sox organization and fans have yet to see that plan come to fruition.

This year, the Red Sox have yet to find someone capable of setting up Kimbrel at a consistent rate. Addison Reed was recently brought in to fill that role, but since his arrival, he has struggled. Due to a general lack of consistency in front of Kimbrel, the bullpen has been full of ups-and-downs all season long. During some stretches the bullpen looks dominant but there have also been times where it looks like there isn’t a single reliable arm out there.

As the Red Sox franchise already knows, a strong bullpen is absolutely necessary for a playoff push and for postseason play. Boston clearly needs to tighten up the relief staff and Kimbrel can’t be called upon for every high-leverage inning.