Miami Marlins claim reliever Chad Smith off waivers

The Miami Marlins on Friday claimed right-handed relief pitcher Chad Smith off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, according to ESPN and multiple reports.

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Smith, 25, made his major league debut last season with the Detroit Tigers and has become property of several different clubs since. Detroit designated him for assignment in the offseason, and two days later the Oakland Athletics claimed him off waivers. After a brief promotion to the big leagues earlier this month, the A’s designated him and subsequently traded him to the Angels, before the Marlins claimed him off their Triple-A club.

A scouting report from late 2012, when Smith was a Tigers prospect, had this to say:

"Smith stands 6’3″ and weighs in at around 215lbs, so he’s got some good size working for him. When in college, Smith worked with a fastball that sat in the 92-93 range, but he showed flashes of being able to reach the mid 90’s on occasion. Reports of Smith in 2012 (remember, coming off of Tommy John) said that he was sitting comfortably in the low 90’s, but that extra velocity wasn’t there yet. I have no problem projecting that Smith will be able to reach the mid 90’s again as he regains full strength, and probably with more consistency. He also throws a slider that sits in the low 80’s, but I don’t know anything of it’s projectability or current grade, so I won’t pretend to. There is an article from The Daily Trojan, which describes the slider as “hard” and an “out pitch”, but I can neither confirm nor deny this report. That article can be found here. As a reliever, Smith doesn’t necessarily need a 3rd pitch, and I haven’t seen any reports of him having a change up, either in college or with the Tigers."

He pitched to a 5.40 ERA in 10 games for Detroit in 2014. This year, Smith owns an inflated 33.75 ERA after two quick appearances with the A’.s. In four minor league seasons, Smith has a solid 2.97 ERA and averages 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

The Marlins bullpen hasn’t fared well this season, and this move provides some much-needed minor league depth. Smith is still pretty young, and he pitched reasonably well for Oakland’s Triple-A club; in eight games he had a 2.31 ERA, but he did post a bloated 10.0 H/9. I wouldn’t be surprised if Smith gets called up at some point this year, but he will start his time with the Marlins organization pitching for Triple-A New Orleans.

Scouting report courtesy of SB Nation’s Bless You Boys.

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