Roche: Carson Smith Injury Unfortunate, But Red Sox Positioned To Handle Loss
BOSTON (CBS) -- The bad news: Red Sox reliever Carson Smith will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of the 2016 season due to a torn UCL in his right elbow.
The good news: Carson Smith has only appeared in three games in the 2016 season, so the Sox never really -- unfortunately -- knew what it was like to have him in their bullpen.
It looked like a solid trade for the Red Sox this past offseason. Wade Miley in exchange for reliever Carson Smith. Miley was OK in the Sox rotation last year while Smith was lights-out as a reliever in Seattle. Smith could definitely help and take some pressure off Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa in the seventh and eighth innings.
But, the offseason plan never worked out.
I will say the first time I saw Carson Smith throw in a bullpen session this spring I thought two things:
1. How filthy his pitches were. Everything was down, down, down in the zone.
2. He has one of the most violent deliveries I've ever seen and is an injury waiting to happen.
Smith is done for the year with a torn UCL. I did not think it would happen this quickly. It's a shame the Sox never got a healthy Carson Smith. It would have been a valuable weapon especially if the fun Sox season continues.
So now what?
You have to hope that Matt Barnes continues to pitch effectively. He has the stuff and can be a weapon if used right. Same goes for Heath Hembree. If one of the two stays consistent, then that would go a long way in making things OK.
John Farrell also has to be careful with his usage of Tazawa and Uehara. We have seen what happens when both get overused, and we saw it just last season.
That's why it's imperative for Dave Dombrowski to do two things over the next three months: acquire a starter and a reliever.
The Sox look like they are the real deal, and if they are to go anywhere, the pitching will have to step up. Depth will be needed.
Teams will determine they are no longer in it. Candidates will emerge. Dombrowski, Mike Hazen, and the baseball ops folks need to find at least two more quality arms to add.
By the way, I do believe this would have been the plan of action anyway. Even if Smith wasn't hurt, as long as the Sox continue on the path they are on, you know that they would be adding.
So despite the injury, it should be business as usual over at Yawkey Way.
