BRADENTON, Fla. — Josh Smoker was ready to walk away at 26 years old. The left-handed relief pitcher had just completed his first season of independent ball in 2014. However, no Major League Baseball team was interested in his surgically-repaired shoulder — the same one that prevented him from reaching Double-A with the Nationals.
He decided to re-sign with the Rockford Aviators of the Frontier League after producing uneven results there — his first time pitching in nearly two years — and the former first-round draft pick expected the 2015 season to be his last as a baseball player.
"I wanted to finish on my own terms and have fun one last time," Smoker said, sitting on a stool at his locker stall at Pirate City.
Rather than thinking about life after baseball, Smoker's singular focus was preparing to start for the Aviators in 2015. One day during the offseason, though, his bullpen catcher was sick, so Paul Fletcher, who happened to be a scout for the Mets, filled in.
After a few phone calls and an impromptu trip to Port St. Lucie, he signed a contract with the Mets. Smoker made his major league debut at 27 years old in August 2016. He spent a full season in a major league bullpen in 2017 and, in January, was traded to the Pirates, who defeated the Twins, 9-3, Sunday in Lee County, Fla.
Now, the 29-year-old is competing for a spot on Clint Hurdle's opening day roster and wants to show his baseball journey is far from over.
"It makes you appreciate things a little more," Smoker, who has thrown three scoreless innings for the Pirates this spring, told DKPittsburghSports.com. "There were plenty of times I was ready to give it up. I wasn’t enjoying baseball any more. There were plenty of times with the Nationals where I dreaded going to the ballpark every day because I knew I was going to get lit up every night."
Smoker's surgically-repaired shoulder had bothered him since his first full professional season in 2008. As a result, his velocity was down. His command was shoddy. His confidence was shot.
He was once viewed as a future top-of-the rotation starter. The Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior in the baseball-rich state of Florida, Smoker was rated by Baseball America as the 11th-best pitching prospect in the 2007 draft.
He signed for $1 million after the Nationals drafted him 31st overall that summer. But he appeared in only 21 games in two seasons after he had surgery to repair a bone spur in his throwing shoulder in 2008.
"I never really felt good again," Smoker said. "From that point on, something was always going on with it, whether it be just some minor pain or it felt like my arm was going to fall off. It was frustrating."
Smoker pitched 91 1/3 innings at Class A Hagerstown in 2010, but his decreased fastball velocity resulted in a 6.50 ERA. A move to the bullpen provided an answer, as he produced a career-best 2.31 ERA in 46 relief appearances at High-A Potomac in 2011.
In 2012, though, Smoker tore the labrum and rotator cuff in his left shoulder, which was stabilized using four anchors by Dr. James Andrews. Smoker was forced to miss the entire 2013 seasons, and the Nationals released him before he completed his recovery.
With the 2014 season near and no major league teams interested, Smoker and his father, Mike, reached out to scouts but to no avail. Even their calls to independent league teams went unanswered.
So, they traveled to Florence, Ky., where the Frontier League held its annual open tryout. The event included players who were bounced out of affiliated ball or those who weren't viewed as talented enough to sign with a major league team.
Smoker was signed by Rockford at the conclusion of the tryout, but he didn't exactly approach the decision with an open mind.
"Honestly, when I first went into it, I was pretty embarrassed," Smoker said. "But once I got there, met all the guys and the manager, I opened my mind up a little bit and tucked my pride in my back pocket. I just tried to have fun again, and it ended up being one of the best summers I’ve had in my life. It kind of made baseball fun again."
While playing for Rockford, Smoker again surpassed 90 mph. His breaking pitches began to break again. More important, his confidence returned. But command was still an issue.
He had a 4.03 ERA and 1.79 WHIP, averaging 7.1 walks per nine innings, in 28 relief appearances in 2014. Again, he contacted scouts, but none wanted to see him throw. Then, his fateful bullpen session with Fletcher that offseason led to a phone call from former Mets farm director Dick Scott, who asked Smoker to travel to the club's spring training facility for a bullpen session.
That yielded a contract and a second chance.
Smoker began the 2015 season at Class-A Savannah and eventually reached Double-A for the first time in his career. He began the following year at Triple-A Las Vegas before finally making his major league debut with the Mets in August.
"I always get pumped when I see a guy like that get to the big leagues," Pirates outfielder Daniel Nava, who began his career playing independent ball, said of Smoker. "People don't realize what that journey is like. There's only so much analytics can tell you, but analytics don't tell you about the heart or how somebody is going to respond to failure."
Smoker made the Mets' opening day roster last spring, but he wasn't equipped to handle a major league lineup. He was "nibbling," as he described it, at the corners of the zone too often because his fastball and splitter weren't enough to deceive hitters.
When he was placed on the disabled list with a left shoulder strain in June, Smoker saw an opportunity to improve the command of his slider and doing so gave him staying power upon his return to New York.
Prior to his injury, Smoker had a 7.45 ERA and 1.86 WHIP with 17 walks to 36 strikeouts in 29 innings. In his final 32 games of the season, he had a 2.63 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and a .262 batting average against.
"Roy Halladay kind of set the bar for everybody when you can be a high draft pick, make the big leagues, go back to A ball to reinvent yourself and be a Hall of Fame-caliber pitcher. That’s a pretty good player to do that," Neal Huntington said. "It is rare but it’s a testament to [Smoker], a credit to him that he went back and reinvented some things, worked his way back. Hopefully he’s in a position to help us win some games."
Although his strong start bodes well, Smoker could be a long shot to make the opening day roster. The bullpen competition is flush with power arms and includes two lefties — Steven Brault and Kevin Siegrist — but he is relishing his second chance and opening some eyes along the way.
"Everything happens for a reason," Smoker added. "I think it just makes me appreciate the journey that much more."
GAME NOTES
• Jameson Taillon started for the Pirates on Sunday against the Twins, allowing two runs on two hits in 2 2/3 innings. Richard Rodriguez, Michael Feliz, Brault, Tyler Eppler and Alex McRae also pitched.
• The Pirates (3-5-2) trailed 3-0 in the fifth inning when their comeback began. Christopher Bostick scored on a sacrifice fly after hitting a leadoff double. They added four runs in the sixth, including a three-run homer by Elias Diaz, and two runs in both the eighth and ninth innings.
• Adam Frazier, Josh Harrison and Todd Cunningham each had two hits. Austin Meadows went 1 for 2 with a single and a run.
• Here's Hurdle's lineup card:
1. Adam Frazier, CF
2. Josh Harrison, 2B
3. Gregory Polanco, RF
4. Colin Moran, 3B
5. Jordy Mercer, SS
6. Elias Diaz, C
7. Christopher Bostick, LF
8. Erich Weiss, 1B
9. Jameson Taillon, P
• The Pirates are scheduled to play the Braves in Lake Buena Vista., Fla. on Monday at 1:05 p.m. Chad Kuhl is expected to start with Felipe Rivero, Trevor Williams, Dovydas Neverauskas and Tyler Jones in relief.