The Atlanta Braves are the kings of one-year contracts. But their signing of Drew Smyly might’ve come at too high a price.
This MLB Hot Stove season will be different from year’s past for obvious reasons. The coronavirus pandemic is still running rampant in North America, thus eliminating the annual in-person Winter Meetings. Plus, some teams will be hesitant on spending money due to the lack of fans throughout the truncated campaign. So far, we’ve seen a smattering of transactions, and the latest came out of the NL East.
On Monday, the Atlanta Braves announced they’ve signed former San Francisco Giants left-handed pitcher Drew Smyly to a one-year, $11 million deal in what seems to be an overpay.
Braves make yet another one-year pact with a free agent
The Braves are no strangers to handing out one-year deals to big-name free agents. Some of those pacts have worked out well, while others flopped. Josh Donaldson and Marcell Ozuna come to mind as two fantastic signings by the Braves. Donaldson ended up winning the NL Comeback Player of the Year in 2019, while Ozuna led he NL in home runs and RBI this year, culminating in a Silver Slugger award. But one signing that didn’t pay off was one Cole Hamels. After signing him to a $18 million deal, Hamels dealt with a multitude of injuries, and the Braves managed to get just one game out of him.
With Smyly, the Braves are getting a multi-faceted pitcher who can start and come out of the bullpen. However, he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, which forced him to miss the following two campaigns. In his first full season back in 2019, Smyly struggled, as he posted a 8.42 ERA in 13 games with the Texas Rangers. After the organization released Smyly, he signed on with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he fared a bit better.
This past season with the Giants, Smyly pitched in only seven games (five starts). Smyly posted a 3.42 ERA and 1.101 WHIP, while striking out 42 batters in 26.1 innings of work.
Sure, Smyly did put up stellar numbers with San Francisco, but can he replicated it in 2021 in a contentious NL East that includes the Miami Marlins, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies? The Braves better hope they get more out of Smyly than they did Hamels.
Either way, it could be a sign that the Braves plan to be one of the few teams willing to spend money this Winter.