Left-handers Will Smith and Andrew Chafin had to wait for much of the 2022-23 offseason to find homes for the 2023 season. It didn’t take long for either to find one this winter, as both are joining familiar locales. Andrew Chafin re-joins the Tigers after a year away from Detroit, while Will Smith heads back to where he began his MLB career.
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A Look at Chafin
After the 2022 campaign, the Tigers opted to move on from Joe Jimenez and Gregory Soto, both of whom were sent to NL East rivals. Left-hander Andrew Chafin, meanwhile, was not retained by the Tigers and signed late in the winter with the Diamondbacks.
Back with Arizona, the veteran lefty saw his walk rate spike to 4.7 BB/9. However, Chafin still managed to get plenty of strikeouts and did record eight saves for a team that opted to use multiple arms in the ninth for most of the season.
However, the Diamondbacks opted to get Paul Sewald at the Trade Deadline and moved Chafin to the Brewers. It didn’t go well for Chafin in Milwaukee, as he yielded 10 walks in 17 innings and gave up the same amount of home runs (3) he did over 34.1 IP with the D-Backs.
Command issues aside, Chafin is still very much the pitcher he was with Detroit in 2022. The 33-year-old made heavy use of a slider, particularly in two-strike counts, that he has a tremendous feel for and rarely hangs. He’ll use it against both lefties and righties.
Chafin made increased use of the sinker in 2023, a pitch he can either run in on lefties or away from righties.
Detroit reportedly signed Chafin to a one-year deal worth $4.25MM that also includes a club option for 2024.
A Look at Smith
Fellow left-hander Will Smith found himself with the Rangers last season after he spent 2022 with the Astros. The 34-year-old spent a good chunk of 2023 as the Rangers’ primary option for saves, but he didn’t finish in the closer’s role.
After what was a strong first half — 15 saves, 35 strikeouts over 32.1 IP, and a 0.87 WHIP — with the Rangers, Smith struggled in the second half and ultimately found himself outside the late innings in favor of Aroldis Chapman and Jose Leclerc.
Smith did win his third World Series title in as many years with the Rangers, but he didn’t factor much in the MLB Postseason. The lefty pitched 3.1 IP this past October and gave up four runs.
The total sum wasn’t pretty for Smith in 2023. However, the lefty’s first half does have to give the Royals some hope that he can make it work in Kansas City.
While Smith does have several pitches to work with, the bread and butter of his arsenal is a cutting four-seamer with good movement and a plus slider that gets plenty of whiffs.
Batters hit just .211/.270/.345 (.614 OPS) off Smith in 2023.
Smith now re-joins the team he started his MLB career with as a starter in 2012. Per ESPN, it’s a one-year pact worth $5MM.
Analysis
The Royals bullpen for much of the 2023 campaign was a question mark. Kansas City relievers owned the second-worst team ERA (5.23) and the second-worst hard-hit rate (34.1%) in the game last year, behind only the Rockies.
Smith gives the Royals some much-needed depth in the bullpen and the lefty could also factor in the equation for saves, as well. The Royals used James McArthur as the team’s primary closer in September, though, and it worked well.
As for the Tigers, Detroit’s bullpen wasn’t too bad. Although, Tigers relievers did yield the third-worst hard-hit rate (33.9%) last season.
Detroit’s bullpen sat middle of the pack in Fangraphs‘ SIERA (3.90) and K-BB% (15.0%), thanks in large part to an effective group that included Will Vest, Tyler Holton, Jason Foley, and closer Alex Lange.
The addition of Chafin gives the Tigers yet another effective arm, one that still flashed good stuff on the mound despite a poor run with the Brewers.