Smith announced his retirement on his personal Twitter feed Sunday.
Smith spent most of his career in the minors but was let go by the Tigers in July of 2020 and was unable to land another minor-league roster spot. The right-hander made four relief appearances for the Blue Jays in 2017 and posted a 5.40 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in five innings.
Smith hasn't pitched in affiliated ball since the 2018 season after requiring Tommy John surgery last March and missing the entire 2019 campaign. The Tigers released him shortly after he underwent the procedure, but Smith re-signed with the organization in February and was expected to serve as a bullpen piece at Triple-A Toledo or Double-A Erie in 2020. Unfortunately for Smith, the cancellation of the minor-league season prompted Detroit to cut ties with him once again, as the 31-year-old is well beyond prospect status and was thus deemed expendable.
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Tigers' Christopher Smith: Returns to Detroit
Rotowire
Smith (elbow) signed a minor-league deal with the Tigers on Friday, freelance baseball writer Robert Murray reports.
Smith is recovering from Tommy John surgery but could be ready to pitch as soon as late March. He signed with the Tigers last offseason as well but was released before throwing a pitch for the team due to the surgery. The 31-year-old has just five innings of big-league experience to his name.
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Chris Smith: Released by Tigers
Rotowire
Smith (elbow) was released by the Tigers on Monday.
It's been quite a rough stretch for the 30-year-old, who ruptured his UCL in late February. He'll spend the entire 2019 season recovering from Tommy John surgery and now will have to manage that recovery without the support of a team. With a typical recovery timeline, he'd be able to return at some point in 2020, though a player of his age with just five big-league innings under his belt is unlikely to excite teams, even without the injury concerns.
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Tigers' Chris Smith: Meets with Dr. Andrews
Rotowire
Smith (elbow) met with Dr. James Andrews on Monday and is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery this week, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
The Tigers will likely confirm that Smith underwent the elbow operation within a few days, but Tommy John surgery was always the likely outcome after he ruptured his UCL last week. The 30-year-old is in line to miss the entire 2019 season and could be sidelined for a large portion of 2020 as well.
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Tigers' Chris Smith: Ruptures UCL in live BP session
Rotowire
Tests revealed that Smith suffered a torn UCL during his live batting practice session Wednesday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
Smith was a long shot to break camp with the Tigers as things stood before, but now it seems like he's in danger of missing the entire 2019 season, if not more. No official word has come out from the Tigers, though this is the kind of injury that frequently needs Tommy John surgery to fix. More information will likely come out in the coming days as Smith and the team determine his next steps.
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Tigers' Chris Smith: Suffers shoulder injury
Rotowire
Smith had his shoulder checked out Wednesday after feeling something during a live batting practice session, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.
The severity of the issue is not yet clear. The 30-year-old is a long shot at best to break camp with the Tigers, with just four big-league games under his belt. Any time lost to injury this spring would only serve to decrease his already slim chances.
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Tigers' Chris Smith: Inks minor-league deal
Rotowire
Smith signed a minor-league contract with the Tigers on Thursday, Robert Murray of The Athletic reports.
Smith spent the entirety of the 2018 campaign at the Triple-A level within the Nationals' system, logging a 3.93 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 65:21 K:BB across 55 innings of relief. He pitched in four big-league games for Toronto in 2017, but that's the extent of Smith's service in the majors. He will provide additional bullpen depth for Detroit heading into the spring.
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Nationals' Chris Smith: Reassigned to minors camp
Rotowire
The Nationals reassigned Smith to their minor-league camp Saturday, Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post reports.
As a 28-year-old, Smith reached the big leagues for the first time of his career in 2017, making four appearances out of the Toronto bullpen. Smith didn't impress in those outings and was quickly outrighted off the 40-man roster, forcing him to settle for a minor-league pact with the Nationals over the winter. After being dismissed Saturday as part of the big club's wave of cuts, Smith looks destined to open the season in the Triple-A Syracuse bullpen.
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Nationals' Chris Smith: Signs minor-league deal with Nationals
Rotowire
Smith signed a minor-league deal with the Nationals on Thursday that includes an invitation to spring training, Keegan Matheson of Sportsnet reports.
Smith made his major-league debut with the Blue Jays as a 28-year-old last season, striking out one batter in five innings and posting a 5.40 ERA. He recorded a mediocre 4.46 ERA in 34.1 innings at Triple-A Buffalo last year, striking out just 16.7 percent of batters and generating a very low 29.1 percent groundball rate. He did demonstrate good control, walking just 4.2 percent of the batters he faced, but he's unlikely to provide anything more than organizational depth for the Nationals and should only be expected to reach the majors in the event of an injury crisis.
Smith cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo on Monday, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet 590 The Fan reports.
Smith compiled a 5.40 ERA and 1.60 WHIP through five major-league innings before being cast off the 40-man roster over the weekend. He'll head back to Buffalo -- where he owns a 4.26 ERA and 20:3 K:BB through 25.1 innings this season -- to continue to serve as organizational bullpen depth.
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Blue Jays' Chris Smith: Packing for imminent return to minors
Rotowire
Smith is expected to be optioned Saturday to Triple-A Buffalo in order to make room for a backup catcher following Russell Martin's oblique injury Friday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
With a pair of backup catchers already on the DL, Martin's injury leaves the club with no choice but to pick up a backstop for Saturday's affair with the Pirates. Add in Chris Rowley, Saturday's starter, needing a spot on the 40-man roster and the Jays have themselves bending over backwards trying to make it all work. In the end, Smith will be the odd man out just two days after being recalled.
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Blue Jays' Chris Smith: Cast off 40-man roster
Rotowire
Smith was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on Saturday.
Smith was expected to be replaced on the active roster by catcher Mike Ohlman following Russell Martin's oblique injury and that's exactly what occurred. The right-hander was recalled from the minors Thursday to provide bullpen depth, but more pressing matters appear to have interfered with the promotion. He'll likely return to serving as organizational depth with Triple-A Buffalo, where he owns a 4.26 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over 26.1 innings this year.
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Blue Jays' Chris Smith: Recalled from Triple-A
Rotowire
Smith was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Smith was summoned back to the big-league bullpen to take the place of Taylor Cole, who was placed on the disabled list with a fractured toe. The 28-year-old owns a 5.40 ERA and 1.60 WHIP through five major-league innings this season, so he isn't expected to see anything other than low-leverage innings with the Blue Jays.
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Blue Jays' Chris Smith: Optioned down to minors
Rotowire
Smith was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Smith pitched Friday, his second appearance in as many days, and the Blue Jays decided to swap him out for a fresh arm in Mike Bolsinger. Assuming Smith pitches well enough with Buffalo to maintain his spot on the 40-man roster, he should be back up to eat low-leverage innings no later than Sept. 1.
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Blue Jays' Chris Smith: Brought back to majors
Rotowire
Smith was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday.
Smith will return for his second stint with the big-league club this season, and he'll look to stick around longer this time around. He spent just two days with the Blue Jays near the end of June, making one appearance. The right-hander has posted a 4.43 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 17:3 K:BB in 19 appearances with Buffalo.
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Blue Jays' Chris Smith: Heading back to minors
Rotowire
Smith was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports.
The 28-year-old made one outing during his brief stint with the big league club, allowing one hit in a scoreless inning against the Orioles on Tuesday. Smith will now head back to Triple-A, where he has a 3.93 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP over 18.1 innings this season. The Blue Jays brought up Glenn Sparkman in a corresponding move Thursday.
