Carson Smith’s 2018 season didn’t go as planned after he suffered shoulder subluxation as a result of throwing his glove in the Boston Red Sox’s dugout out of frustration.
Smith’s season was over and many wondered if he’d don a Red Sox uniform come 2019, especially after his comments about his shoulder being fatigued from throwing a lot.
But Smith signed a one-year minor league deal with Boston in December, and now chalks up his glove-throwing incident to nothing more than being frustrated.
“The timing was very frustrating,” Smith said, via The Eagle Tribune’s Chris Mason. “I think that was the most frustrating part. I think I’d finally caught my stride to be back to the pitcher I was in 2015. I know I had a rough 2016 and 2017 just trying to come back from Tommy John. I think I finally was, I would say, fully back. So it was a frustrating moment.”
It’s certainly hard to blame Smith for feeling the way he did. Red Sox fans saw the relief pitcher make three appearances in 2016 before making just eight in 2017. Things started to click for Smith in 2018 after missing the first six weeks of last season, as he didn’t allow a run in his first seven appearances.
There’s no telling whether Smith will even see time at the big league level this season. But if he can pick up where he left off after those seven scoreless appearances in 20178, there may be reason to call him up.
