Atlanta (AP) – Left-hander Draw S Smiley became the first of 181 free agents to replace teams when he agreed to a one-year contract with the Atlanta Braves on Monday, leaving him injured and frustrated with a spin Did the performance.
The 31-year-old made seven appearances for the San Francisco Giants last season, making five starts. He went 0-1 with a 3.42 ERA.
But the Braves were impressed by the increase in his strikeout ratio and speed, believing a pitcher who has never won more than nine matches or earned more than $ 7 million in a single season would probably be at the forefront of his career. .
“It’s a reverse game, no doubt about it,” said general manager Alex Anthoplos. “Obviously, we’ll find out eight months from now, how it works 10 months from now. But we think the opposite is true of Drew. He only scratches the surface. ”
Smiley received a 1, 48,481,481 projected base salary from an actual 4 4 million contract with giants, plus rosters and performance bonuses.
Atlanta has been particularly impressed with Smiley’s start since Sept. 4 when he returned from a finger injury. He played 18 innings, 13 hits and seven runs, 31 strikeouts and just five walks.
“Lefty has left his post,” Anthoplos said.
“We feel he’s really going to emerge for the best years of his career,” said GM. Done. Hope everybody on this site also had a great day. ”
Smiley combines depth and experience to tour Max Atlanta, led by Max Fried, who finished fifth in the NL Sai Young Award voting, and stopped sensation Ian Anderson. The Braves are also counting on the return of Mike Soroka, who missed most of last season with the burst Achilles.
Brave expects to get more from Smiley than Collie Hamels, who made a 18 million, one-year deal for 2020, which became, 6,666,667. He missed just one game due to injury and missed the entire playoffs.
Atlanta also suffered a mysterious drop in speed from former All-Star Mike Foltenwich, which resulted in him coming off after just one start.
But two other young pitchers, Kyle Wright and Bryce Wilson, did well at the end of the season and during the playoffs. Anthroplos relies on them to continue their growth, giving the Braves plenty of pitching options.
“I think we were definitely stronger by the end of the year before the start,” he insisted. “But he said, ‘We always want to be as deep as we can.'”
Despite the initial pitching troubles, the Braves won their third straight NL East title and advanced to the League Championship Series, losing seven matches to a 3-1 lead over last World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers.
Smiley missed two full seasons after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery, returning to distribute in Texas and Philadelphia in 2019, she started 21 and 6 out of 25 performances with 6.24 ERA. -7 added.
Smiley began his career in Detroit, traded to Tampa Bay Ray in 2014 and has bounced off several teams since his injury. His best season was 2014, when he went 9-10 with a 3.24 ERA in 25 overs.
Returning from his injury, Lefty was released by both the Rangers and the Milwaukee Brewers before promising to return with the Giants last year. Most notably, he won 42 strikeouts in 26.1 innings and dedicated just three balls to his left-hand delivery in 36 overs (.083).
Smiley has a career record of -3 35–35 with a 13.1313 ERA.
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