The Mets’ excitable left-handed reliever, Josh Smoker, had traveled quite the path before making his Major League debut on August 19th, 2016 in San Francisco against the Giants.
A first-round pick of the Washington Nationals back in 2007, Smoker struggled with shoulder issues over the years before finally finding his health and making it to New York to pitch on the grandest stage of them all. Kevin Kernan of the NY Post spoke with the southpaw, who is an early arrival at the team’s spring training complex.
“Because it had been such a long road and it had taken almost 10 years to get there, it was definitely a lot more sweet and made it all worth it,’’ Smoker said.
In that near decade it took Smoker to finally reach a Major League mound, he even found himself pitching with the Rockford Aviators of the Frontier League after having trouble finding a team as he recovered from his second shoulder surgery in 2014.
Smoker spoke with our own Michael Mayer in 2015 on the subject of being a former first round pick who found himself pitching in an unlikely place in what should have been the prime of his career.
“Some times you got to do what you have to do. Honestly at that point I was out of options because I wasn’t getting any looks from affiliated teams. I was still coming off shoulder surgery so I wasn’t 100% yet and my velocity wasn’t back either. I am glad I did it, it was good to get my feet wet again.”
The Mets would go on to sign Smoker to a minor league deal in 2015, quickly rising from pitching with the A-level Savannah Sand Gnats to ending his first season with the organization in Double-A Binghamton. He would find himself pitching in New York the very next season, all the hard work finally paying off.
Smoker spoke to Kernan on those tough times he went through on his way to the majors, even feeling like he may want to leave the game altogether. His family would keep him strong, with an eye towards the bigger picture.
““They knew that somewhere inside of me that I still wanted to play,’’ Smoker said. “Even though there were times I was really down on myself, they were not going to let me give up that easy.’’
His first season in the big leagues saw him pitch to a 3-0 record to go along with an ERA of 4.70 while making 20 appearances. Smoker struck out 25 batters in 15.1 innings pitched, showing a great tenacity for the big moment at times.
The 28-year-old reliever will be competing for a bullpen spot for this upcoming 2017 campaign as we get ready for pitchers and catchers to officially report in just two days.
