The Tampa Bay Rays made a statement when they traded Drew Smyly to the Seattle Mariners for Mallex Smith. They improved their outfield defense dramatically, adding another athlete to their roster. The potential of pairing Smith with Kevin Kiermaier and Steven Souza led to the possibility that the Rays could have the best defensive outfield in the game.
Smith performed well in his brief trial to start the season. In the majors because of Colby Rasmus‘ injury, he produced a solid .261/.346/.304 batting line in his nine games, stealing three bases.