Rosenthal today in the Athletic
The Brewers declined to protect Smith on their 40-man roster last November, risking that no team would take him in the Rule 5 draft. It was a reasonable bet: Smith, 25, had thrown only 157 innings in the minors due to injuries and working mostly as a reliever.
The White Sox, though, had other ideas, grabbing Smith with the first pick of the draft for $100,000. Their choice already looks shrewd, with Smith producing a 1.54 ERA in his first two starts. But White Sox general manager Chris Getz empathizes with the Brewers, saying the pitcher Smith has become is not the pitcher he was in the Milwaukee organization.
“It’s not a good feeling. It isn’t. And you reflect back on that process,” Getz said of losing a pitcher such as Smith. “However, we didn’t see this coming, either.”