With 25.0 WAR in just over six seasons, Don Smith may just be the best Talons pitcher in team history.
And now, he IS history.
Just one week after executing his 16M player option for 2049, Smith was unceremoniously dumped by the same team that basically traded all their top prospects for him in 2042. And, despite the diminished skill set, Smith was still 10-5 with a 3.52 ERA and 2.3 WAR in an injury shortened 2048 season. But the Talons, in all their wisdom, seemed to think that his time has passed. According to them, it was just a matter of economics, so they decided to pay him to go away. As of now, the former uber-phenom remains an unsigned free agent.
Aside from the cost aspect, there may be another important factor in the release of Smith. And that is the emergence of Smith.
Jeremy Smith, that is. The former lefty reliever, once described as "O'Macken-Lite", has fleshed out his changeup and now looks to fully transition to starting pitcher. The Talons had been grooming him for this role, having him start 20 games over the last two seasons, but this will be the first time that Jeremy will have the role from the start of a campaign.
Given this team's stunning record of personnell decisions lately, surely this move will be met with resounding success, as usual.
