The Oakland A’s didn’t make any blockbuster trades last winter, but they did swing a few small deals to add role players to their roster. One of those additions was pitcher Burch Smith, acquired from the Giants for cash.
Under normal circumstances, there might not have been room for the 30-year-old Smith in the Opening Day bullpen. He’s behind several other arms on the team’s depth chart, and he has a minor league option remaining, so if it had come down to a roster crunch then he surely would have been left out in favor of someone else who couldn’t be sent down and stashed in Triple-A.