Right-hander Drew Smith is heading to the Nationals on a minor league deal, reports Michelle Margaux of SNY Sports. The Roc Nation Sports client can earn a base salary of $1.75MM if he makes the big-league club. Margaux adds that Smith can earn another $1.25MM through performance bonuses.
Smith missed the entirety of the 2025 season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. The Mets declined their $2MM club option on the reliever for 2026, sending him to free agency. Smith has pitched in parts of six big-league seasons, all with New York.
The 32-year-old has put together a 3.48 ERA across 191 MLB games since his debut in 2018. The elbow surgery cut short what was shaping up to be his best season with the Mets. Smith bumped his strikeout rate to a career-best 29.1% over 17 2/3 innings with the club in 2024. He chipped in two saves while providing an ERA of just over 3.00. The July 2024 procedure was the second TJ of Smith’s career.
Smith has typically relied on a fastball/slider combo, with the occasional changeup and curveball. After throwing just one cutter from 2022 through 2023, he made the pitch a more regular part of his arsenal in 2024. Smith’s cutter put up a 35.8% whiff rate and propelled him to a strong 14.3% swinging-strike rate. The one concern when looking at the righty’s repertoire is the four-seamer, which averaged less than 95 mph for the first time in 2024. Smith didn’t progress to a rehab assignment last season, so there’s no indication of where his velocity stands after the second major elbow injury.
Landing in Washington gives Smith a solid shot at a big-league gig, assuming health. The Nationals ranked dead last by a significant margin in bullpen ERA last season. One of the club’s few reliable relievers, Jose A. Ferrer, was dealt to Seattle for catching prospect Harry Ford. Smith joins a lengthy list of non-roster invitees competing for a bullpen job in Spring Training, including Trevor Gott, Cionel Perez, and Zach Penrod.
Photo courtesy of Jim Cowsert, Imagn Images