Burch Smith was drafted by the Cleveland Indians twice before finally entering the MLB after being drafted into the San Diego Padres organization in the 14th round of the 2011 June Amateur Draft. Smith was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays as part of a three team trade before being drafted by the New York Mets in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft. He was then traded to the Kansas City Royals immediately after.
He is signed through 2018 with the Kansas City Royals, but he is under team control through the 2019 season before becoming arbitration eligible in 2020.