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Phillies Reportedly Agree to Deal with Free Agent Pitcher Drew Smyly
Published:
Via my main man, Jon Heyman:
Drew Smyly agrees to Phillies deal. They could use lefty in rotation. @JSalisburyNBCS on it
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 19, 2019
So Smyly became a free agent yesterday when he opted out of a minor league contract with Milwaukee.
Jim Salisbury at NBC Sports Philadelphia wrote this about the left-hander:
Smyly, 30, would be a potential marginal upgrade for the Phillies. Signing him could also help the bullpen as it might allow the Phils to put Vince Velasquez back in the bullpen, where he showed some flashes of brilliance earlier this season.
Smyly went 31-27 with a 3.74 ERA in 156 games (85 starts) for Detroit and Tampa Bay from 2012 to 2016. He did not pitch in the majors in 2017 or 2018 as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, and pitched poorly with Texas earlier this season — 8.42 ERA, 1.909 WHIP and a 50.6 hard-contact rate in 51 1/3 innings — and was released in late June. Milwaukee signed him in early July as potential depth. He allowed seven runs in 12 2/3 innings over three starts at Triple A before opting out of his deal Thursday.
Well, it’s something I guess. Low risk type of move for the Phils, who didn’t have to give up anything in return. As rough as the pitching situation has been this season, Smyly may actually be an upgrade.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com