Red Sox lose setup man Carson Smith to Tommy John surgery, leaving a void to fill
Smith, who came over from the Mariners in the Wade Miley trade, emerged as one of the best relievers in baseball last season.
By
Mike Axisa
•
1 min read
The Red Sox have lost one of their top offseason pickups for the rest of the season. Setup man Carson Smith will have Tommy John surgery on Tuesday afternoon, the team announced. The procedure will likely keep him out until the middle of 2017.
Boston acquired Smith from the Mariners over the winter a trade that sent Wade Miley to Seattle. Roenis Elias also went to the Red Sox in that trade. Last season the 26-year-old Smith had a 2.31 ERA (264 ERA+) in 70 innings with dynamite strikeout (32.4 percent) and ground ball (64.8 percent) rates.
A flexor muscle problem limited Smith in spring training and delayed the start of his season until early May. He was only able to throw 2 2/3 innings because he had trouble bouncing back the next day. The team eventually placed Smith on the DL again, and subsequent tests showed the torn elbow ligament.
With Smith sidelined, the Red Sox will continue to use Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara as setup men ahead of closer Craig Kimbrel. Boston is 27-17 and in a virtual tie for first place in the AL East, thanks mostly to their high-powered offense.
