4:31pm: Houston’s proceeding as if it won’t have Smith this season, according to manager Dusty Baker (Twitter link via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). “He’s welcome to come back,” Baker said. “Right now, we plan to go without Joe.”
7:27am: The Astros have placed reliever Joe Smith on the restricted list, Mark Berman of FOX 26 reports on Twitter. Smith has not yet reported to camp, citing health and safety concerns relating to his family, though it is not yet clear whether he will formally opt out of the season.
The defending American League champs are facing a few pitching challenges. Reliever Josh James was only able to arrive yesterday. Starter Jose Urquidy has yet to report, joining young slugger Yordan Alvarez in that regard. Those players’ precise situations aren’t known.
Smith, 35, had been a key part of the Houston relief corps. The club called upon him four times apiece in last year’s ALCS and World Series. He missed time with injury in 2019 but worked to a 1.80 ERA in his 25 appearances.
If Smith does not end up playing for the ’Stros this year, the team would save the pro-rated portion of his $4MM salary. He inked a two-year, $8MM pact in advance of the 2020 campaign.
*The original version of this story reflected since-withdrawn reporting by Jim Bowden of The Athletic (via Twitter) suggesting Smith had decided to opt out.
that’s rough. he’s a great BP arm.
Plus Houston is a bit short on proven relief depth. Of course, almost every MLB team can stake that claim
More and more each and every day. And this ramped up training is going to see more injuries as the days progress.
there hasnt been one for a few days…
ImA this is actually the first one in a few days and only the 14th overall
I love baseball. Love it, breathe it, live it… but I am against any sports until a vaccine is ready.
Dropping like flies. The opt out list is one thing and growing. The listed Covid players is another.
What I am finding interesting is the news of players who have not yet reported to camp, seems to be largely under reported. Can you say Covid related?
Good effort MLB, but this 2020 season is going nowhere.
They decided to start the season essentially on a whim and many of the players that haven’t reported yet live internationally. There’s still a pandemic going on and not every country is allowing travel to the US freely
doom and gloom patrol is back at it again. we’re within two weeks of the season. its gonna be hard to stop it from starting now.
Kind of like they were 2 weeks away from starting in March, yet here we are.
good thing it isnt March
“Good thing it’s not March” and it’s July 15th where currently every team STILL has a 0-0 record.
Not trying to be all doom and gloom…. but realistic. America has bungled the handling of this virus and I hate to see people get sick.
@DarkSide – The research, knowledge and info on all this is changing so fast. A month ago, I was admittedly in the “let me catch it, have two lousy weeks and then get on with my life” camp. Now we’re finding that immunity to this virus can go away in a relatively short period of time, AND there’s a significant percentage of survivors who suffer long term, perhaps permanent heart and/or lung damage. I’m old and WAY past my playing days, and I don’t want those kinds of long term effects. I’d imagine the fear for professional athletes is compounded. It is indeed a good thing that it’s not still March, mainly because, while still nowhere near complete, we’re gaining knowledge and insight into the virus, and in my opinion should act accordingly.
you’re not wrong, but my point still stands. for better or for worse this isnt. the same situation as in March.
The media is bungling and spinning this as they see fit. NOT “AMERICA.”
its not realistic. saying that they wolnt get through 60 games is realistic. saying that the season wolnt start at all at this point is not.
Completely agree on both points.
It’s hard not to. The UFC has been up and running for two months now in the US and Dana White said he’s worried he might have to permanently move to Abu Dhabi for the time being to put on shows considering how some states are having to close some things down again.
the fact that the UFC has been able to keep things going is a good indicator though. multiple sports such as NASCAR, horse racing, and UFC either persisted through earlier closures or only were shut down for a short spell. the success of these sports in spite of tough conditions and the potential political ramifications of a second complete shutdown indicate there is absolutly a chance. again, i dont see this all crashing down within 2 weeks. maybe they dont get all the way though, but suggesting that they wolnt even start at this point or that there is no chance they finish is blatantly premature.
It’s just the logistics though. All those sports have a much easier and clear path when it comes to testing and just overall number of people and days involved.
Another guy the mets dumped off too soon for a lousy trade deal
Josh James showed up yesterday after the birth of his child. Wish the author of this article did some actual research before posting.
Do the Astros bring back Pat Neshak to fill their sidewinder reliever role?
the legend himself
I heard that James had reported but Urquidy had not.
Sign Cashner. Should be a good relief pitcher and could start if needed and close.
He refused to participate in the cheating last year. So he has to go sit in the corner.
Glass House.
I think Austin Pruitt will have the opportunity to contribute plus Bryan Abreu should be able to give them quality innings in the bullpen as well. But losing Joe Smith really hurts.