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The Giants were done in last season by a shaky bullpen, and now the team will not have one of their top relievers for 2017.
Left-hander Will Smith has missed most of spring training with pain in his elbow, and after a recent battery of tests and second opinions, Tommy John surgery is likely. Manager Bruce Bochy confirmed the news to reporters Thursday, including Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area. From Pavlovic:
“They had the same opinion,” Bochy said. “There is a tear there. You can try to rehab it and if that doesn’t work you’re behind a couple of months ... It’s not a definite he’s going to have it done, but two doctors are in agreement on what this is.”
Sure enough, Smith confirmed Friday he will indeed have his elbow rebuild, sidelining him for the entire 2017 season:
Smith said he's having Tommy John next week in LA. Said decision was easy because he didn't want to risk missing 2 yrs if rehab failed.
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) March 24, 2017
The extent and nature of the tear are unknown. A few Tommy John surgery alternatives have been developed over the last year or two, including a stem cell procedure used by Garrett Richards and a “rebuttressing” procedure used by Seth Maness, though it’s unclear if Smith was a candidate for either. Those methods don’t work for severe or full ligament tears. Both procedures would have still sidelined Smith for months.
San Francisco acquired Smith from the Brewers at least year’s trade deadline to help improve their bullpen. He struggled in his first few outings with the Giants (six runs in 4 2/3 innings), though he settled in after that and finished with a 2.95 ERA (142 ERA+) and 26 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings with the club. Smith had a 3.24 ERA (123 ERA+) with 225 strikeouts in 169 1/3 innings from 2014-16.
This coming season Smith figured to be the primary left-handed setup man for new closer Mark Melancon. The Giants do have some other lefty bullpen candidates, namely Josh Osich and Steven Okert, possibly Ty Blach too, though they don’t have Smith’s track record. Righties Hunter Strickland and Derek Law figure to be Melancon’s primary setup men for the time being.
A quality lefty reliever is a necessity in the NL West given all the big lefty bats (Corey Seager, Adrian Gonzalez, Joc Pederson, Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, etc.), so it’s possible the Giants will look outside the organization for help. The free agent market has been picked clean, though a lefty relief option could emerge as a trade candidate as teams finalize their rosters at the end of spring training.
