When Drew Smyly signed with the Cubs after the 2017 season, many of us thought that he was an intriguing “buy low” signing. He was coming off of Tommy John surgery and it was known that he was unlikely to contribute in any meaningful way in the 2018 season. But, with the some patience by the Cubs and a lot of hard work by Drew, he might add surplus value in 2019.
It didn’t work out that way on either end. The Cubs traded him before the 2019 season (to save a few bucks) and Smyly was largely ineffective for the Rangers, the team he was traded to.