Carson Smith will have season ending shoulder surgery. That marks three mostly lost seasons for the reliever. Will he ever become an asset?
The Carson Smith trade has been mostly a dud for the Boston Red Sox. In December of 2015 they sent starting pitcher Wade Miley, of “He’s the ace” fame, and prospect Jonathan Aro to the Mariners for Smith and Roenis Elias. Now, the loss of Miley isn’t something worth losing sleep over. He had a 5.37 ERA in 166 IP in 2016. Then a 5.61 in 157.1 IP for the Orioles last year. And he’s thrown a grand total of 6.1 major league innings this season. As for Elias, the Red Sox eventually sent him back for a PTBNL or cash.
In other words, neither team really won. In his time with the Red Sox since the trade, Carson Smith hasn’t don’t much. Over the last three seasons he’s thrown a total of 25.2 IP with a 2.66 ERA. The results have been there when he’s been on the mound. But he just can’t stay out there. Today, the Red Sox announced that Carson Smith will undergo shoulder surgery and is likely done for the year. The injury is a partial labrum tear, but they likely won’t know the severity until they get in there. That the injury occured when he threw his glove in anger after an outing against the A’s on May 14 adds insult to injury. But in the end what really matters is that he once again won’t be contributing much to the season.
There’s another piece to the puzzle.
And remember that PTBNL that was lingering from the return of Elias? A propos enough, it was announced this afternoon as well. So the circle is complete, and the most useful piece from the pair of moves may end up being the player who wasn’t even named until today. Such is life as a general manager. You can’t predict baseball, or so they say. I guess that includes trades.
Next: Red Sox: Joe Kelly becoming eight inning hero
Carson Smith will attempt his second comeback with the Red Sox at some point in the 2019 season. Though, at this point, it’s hard to hold out hope that he will ever be an impact reliever for the team. What are your thoughts on this latest setback for Carson Smith? Will the Red Sox need to trade for a reliever at the deadline? Let us know in the comments!