Boston Red Sox Carson Smith To Have Tommy John Surgery

Boston Red Sox reliever Carson Smith needs surgery after an MRI Tuesday morning.

Boston Red Sox reliever Carson Smith will undergo Tommy John surgery Tuesday on his right elbow in New York.

Smith, who came to the Red Sox via a trade with the Seattle Mariners for starting pitcher Wade Miley last December, was expected to be the seventh-inning setup man for Boston. A flexor strain injury diagnosed in Spring Training, however, saw him start the season on the disabled list. Two single-inning rehab appearances in for Double-A Portland followed before he rejoined the main club in early May. Throwing three innings before shutting down again, his scant statistics show two strikeouts and hits over 2.2 innings without an earned run.

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BoSox Injection

Brought to Boston to bolster the bullpen, perhaps the biggest effect of his injury this year is the hole left in the starting rotation by Miley’s departure. A mid-rotation starter with the Sox last year, Miley ate 193.1 innings while posting an 11-11 record for the American League East cellar dweller. With injuries to Joe Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez this year, the BoSox would love to have had a stable starter to pair with Rick Porcello and Steven Wright during the first quarter of the season. Miley has been decent with Seattle with a 5-2 mark with an ERA of 4.50 and an ERA+ of 87. Not great numbers, but better than the now demoted Henry Owens and Sean O’Sullivan.

The Red Sox bullpen has adjusted.

Junichi Tazawa is stable as Smith’s replacement. Sporting a WHIP of 0.792 in 17.2 innings, Tazawa has the best ERA+ of any pitcher on the team at 291. Even with the small sample size, his 4.2 strikeout-to-walk ratio gives manager John Farrell piece of mind when the call to the bullpen is given. Lefty Robbie Ross and Heath Hembree bolster the pen anchored by all-world closer Craig Kimbrel and setup master Koji Uehara. No Sox reliever has an ERA+ under 120. Although any team contending is in need of another fresh arm down the stretch, Smith’s absence may be felt in the clubhouse, but unnoticed on the field.

Next season is another story.

Uehara is 41 and rather fragile. The closer for the Sox 2013 World Series run, injuries limited him to 40 innings last year. Holding the role envisioned for Carson, it is hard to see Uehara pitching the needed 70 games in a season. He is a free agent after 2016. So is Tazawa, who is pitching himself into the key setup role again at 30, or could be lured away for a shot at the closer’s role and a big pay day.

With Smith out for all this year and a sizeable chunk of 2017 with the restrictions added for Tommy John pitchers, keeping Tazawa is now one of the biggest tasks for the Sox going forward. Behind Kimbrel, he is their best reliever. If Uehara wants to come back for one more year, mixing him with Ross, Hembree and Matt Barnes out of the pen is a good mix for Boston.

If there is a silver lining for the Sox, Smith barely has a year expired on his major league clock. The earliest he can hit arbitration is 2018. When he comes back, he will still be under full control of Boston for five seasons. If all goes well, and there is always a risk, Smith will get a full chance to show the Fenway Faithful why they traded for him.

Next: Will we see another 300 game winner?

That audition, sadly, will not be in 2016.