SAN FRANCISCO — It has become commonplace to hear that a pitcher will have Tommy John surgery and automatically assume that he’ll come back in a year and possibly be better than before. That’s not always true, but Will Smith provided another bit of positive evidence in his return.
Smith had a target date and hit it, returning after missing the entire 2017 season and eventually taking over the closer’s job and saving 14 games. It was about as successful a first year back as he could have hoped. Here are the highs and lows …
What Went Right: Smith had a 2.