Mets reliever Drew Smith was activated off the 10-Day Injured List and optioned to their alternate site on Sunday after the Mets’ 4-0 win over the Nationals at Citi Field.
Smith, 27, appeared in eight games for the Mets during the abbreviated 2020 season. He struggled in 7.0 innings to the tune of a 6.43 ERA. He was punished by the long ball surrendering an 18.2% HR/FB rate. Smith previously appeared for the Mets in 2018 and was successful in 28.0 innings of work. He posted a 3.66 FIP and 3.54 ERA in his 27 appearances.
Smith has featured an upper nineties fastball in the past, so it will be interesting to see if his velocity has taken a hit coming back from a shoulder injury. In addition to the fastball, he features a curveball and change up. In 2020 he added a cutter to his repertoire and threw it 30.3% of the time. The cutter was his most valuable pitch in 2020 (pVAL), so expect to see him feature the pitch this year if he gets any action. Keep an eye on how often he uses his 4-seam fastball; his usage rate of the pitch dropped 23% from his 2018 numbers, and it was his worst pitch in 2020 (pVAL).
Injuries have been a problem for the reliever; he missed the entire 2019 season after having Tommy John surgery. Smith reportedly faced hitters during his rehab session on Saturday. If he is able to return from his shoulder soreness at full strength, Smith could potentially provide solid depth to the Mets bullpen provided he is able to repeat his 2018 success.
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