Mets Sign Veteran Reliever And Extend Spring Training Invite

The New York Mets have kept their offseason moving and signed a veteran bullpen piece to a contract that includes a Spring Training invite.

It would be difficult for the New York Mets to not be disappointed after failing to land Yoshinobu Yamamoto this offseason. He was their prized target and they made a real run at getting him.

Knowing they offered the same contract that he ultimately signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers makes it sting even more, but like owner Steve Cohen said, "life goes on" for the Mets.

Now, David Stearns can turn his attention to making other additions to the roster this offseason that are either long-term plays or can be stopgaps during 2024, when they're not internally expecting to compete.

One of those moves was signing a veteran reliever.

"The Mets have signed RHP Chad Smith to a minor league deal with an invite to big league spring training," reports Joe DeMayo of SNY.

A former 11th round pick of the Miami Marlins in 2016, the right-hander has spent seven years in the minor leagues before appearing in 25 Major League games during the past two seasons.

Chad Smith was traded from the Marlins to the Colorado Rockies in the summer of 2020 when the minor league season was cancelled because of COVID.

At Triple-A in 2021, he made 36 appearances and had an ERA of 2.97 across 33 1/3 innings pitched. That earned him an opportunity to play with the Rockies in 15 MLB games during 2022 where he struggled mightily, posting an ERA of 7.50.

The Rockies traded him following the season to the Oakland Athletics, where he once again split time between Triple-A and the MLB.

He had one of his worst professional seasons, pitching poorly at both levels. Smith was outrighted following the year and elected to hit free agency.

New York now takes a low-risk opportunity on a pitcher who could throw some innings for them during the long season if he gets back to the form that he showed throughout his minor league career.