Red Sox's Carson Smith: Late-inning role planned

Smith will be used in any spot during the final third of games this season, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora envisions a variety of roles for Smith, who had a nice September run for Boston in 2017, posting a 1.35 ERA over 6.2 innings. With his trademark slider, Smith is a nice change-of-pace out of a bullpen that features several power arms. He could work his way into a few save opportunities along the way, if Cora sticks with his plan to use closer Craig Kimbrel in high-leverage situations outside of traditional closing opportunities.