January 31st, 2018 by WCBC Radio
The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired southpaw Josh Smoker from the Mets in exchange for left-hander Daniel Zamora and cash, the two teams announced. Smoker was designated for assignment by the Mets earlier this week to clear roster space for the re-signed Jose Reyes. The hard-throwing Smoker has a 5.02 ERA, 11.7 K/9, and 2.58 K/BB rate over 71 2/3 relief innings in the big leagues, all with New York in 2016-17. Despite that big strikeout total, Smoker had issues keeping the ball in the park, with 14 homers allowed in his brief career. He also posted a 5.1 BB/9 rate last season and struggled with control at times over his nine minor league seasons. Smoker isn’t exactly a young hurler (he turned 29 in November) but he still clearly has some upside in his arm given his big strikeout potential.
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