Amidst a flurry of transactions aimed at retooling and restocking the bullpen across the upper levels of the organization this offseason, David Stearns and the New York Mets brought in sinkerballer Chad Smith on a minor league deal in December. Now, the 28-year-old righty will aim to set himself apart from the pack during spring training in hopes of carving out a role for himself heading into the 2024 season.

Smith was first selected out of Wallace State Community College in the 23rd round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians, though he opted to remain in college and transferred to the University of Mississippi ahead of the 2016 season. After posting a 4.22 ERA in 15 games with the Rebels, Smith was taken in the 11th round of the 2016 draft by the Miami Marlins and went on to sign with the team.

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Smith spent parts of five seasons in the Marlins’ organization before being traded to the Colorado Rockies during the 2020 campaign. He would go on to make his major league debut with Colorado in 2022 while posting a 7.50 ERA in 15 games that year. Smith was later dealt to the Oakland Athletics in December of 2022 before recording a 6.59 ERA in 10 appearances for the club last season.

Over a total of 25 major league games up to this point, Smith has posted a 7.11 ERA, 1.674 WHIP, 5.26 FIP and a 63 ERA+ in 31 2/3 innings of work. His numbers were similar with Triple-A Las Vegas in 2023 as he recorded an 8.57 ERA with a 2.077 WHIP that was inflated by a 10.9 H/9 rate and a 7.8 BB/9 rate. Obviously not great, but his strikeout rate was 10.9 K/9. Over the last three seasons, he posted double-digit strikeout rates in the minor leagues.

According to Baseball Savant, Smith throws a mid-90s sinker 56% of the time and a mid-80s slider 42% of the time. Occasionally (3%), he will also throw a high-80s changeup. Smith is known to be a groundball pitcher, as opposing batters have a groundball rate of 55.2% against him in the majors. However, his command has emerged as a weakness – opponents have worked out walks 15.2% of the time against Smith.

The Mets came into 2024 clearly lacking pitching depth. Chad Smith’s minor league strikeout rates and his major league ground ball rates are intriguing, and if he starts to improve his control, he could force his way into the major league roster at some point this season.