As we all wait for the Hot Stove to heat up, the Boston Red Sox have signed Carson Smith to a one year deal, avoiding arbitration.
The Boston Red Sox have not made much news this offseason. Last week, the team announced a one-year deal with knuckleballer Steven Wright to avoid arbitration. This week, Boston completed a deal with reliever Carson Smith, to avoid arbitration with him.
Evan Drellich broke the news on Monday morning, reporting that the deal is worth $850,000 over one year.
Source: Carson Smith, Red Sox agree to $850,000 salary for 2018, avoiding arbitration.
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) January 8, 2018
This is good news for the Red Sox, as MLB Trade Rumors had Smith projected to make $1.1 million in arbitration. The deal saved Boston a little bit of money, albeit not much.
Smith could be a huge piece for Boston this season. He is going into his first full season after Tommy John surgery, but expectations are still high. Smith was really good for the Red Sox in 2017 when he pitched.
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He made eight appearances, racking up a 1.35 ERA over 6 2/3 innings. The elbow was never really an issue for Smith in his rehab season.
He still showed that he had that filthy wipeout slider that many raved about when he was younger. But in 2018, Smith will take a larger role for the Red Sox bullpen.
It is not likely that Boston re-signs Addison Reed, meaning they are in search of an eighth-inning guy. Smith could fill that role perfectly if he has the stuff he had during last season.
But even if he is not the eighth-inning guy, he can eat up valuable innings in a time where bullpens are king. Alex Cora could use Smith in an extended relief role this year also. We all know about the success that David Price had in that same role last year, but he will be returning to the rotation.
Smith could come in for high scoring games, and eat up two or three innings over the middle of the game.
It does not matter what role Smith will play, the Red Sox will get their money’s worth out of him. He will be a staple of the Boston bullpen this year.
Related Story: Why past free agency mistakes has made Dave Dombrowski cautious.
The Sox still have quite a few free agents to negotiate with this off-season. For all updates on the Red Sox offseason, make sure you come back to BoSox Injection for all reactions and breakdowns.