After 2nd Tommy John surgery, vet Smith vying for spot in young Nats bullpen

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Describing himself as a “fully healthy player” after recovering from his second Tommy John surgery, Drew Smith was already throwing in the bullpen his first morning with the Nationals.

Smith, 32, signed a Minor League deal with an invitation to Major League camp. He has not pitched in the big leagues since June 23, 2024, with the Mets. This year, he has a strong opportunity to make the Nationals as a veteran in a young bullpen.

“I threw bullpens and lives throughout the whole offseason,” Smith said. “... As far as pitch count, sometimes I would throw 30, 40, pitch bullpens in the offseason. So I'm healthy. I'm a healthy player. I just never got to pitch in the game at the end of the year, so a lot of teams didn't necessarily see me as that, but I considered myself fully healthy last October.”

Smith rehabbed at the Mets complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla., where Grayson Crawford was the team’s assistant pitching coordinator. After Crawford was hired this winter by the Nationals as director of pitching, the two realized it could be a good fit.

“Grayson was talking about the staff and the vibes and the guys,” Smith said. “I had a couple other places that I was looking at, but ended up choosing here. I’m excited to be here, happy to be here.”

Smith has made 191 relief appearances over his career. He is 12-13 with five saves, a 3.48 ERA and a 9.3 K/9 rate in 196 1/3 innings.

“I think somebody that has done what he's done, you kind of go off of what they've done historically, guys that have been there and done that,” manager Blake Butera said. “So want to make sure the velo is where he wants to be, the slider’s where he wants it to be, health checks out with our medical group. All those things kind of factor into that decision at the end of spring.”

Smith could earn $1.75 million this season if he makes the Major League club. He joins 29-year-old left-hander Cionel Pérez as another reliever with big league experience vying to earn a roster spot.

“I'm hoping they just see a competitor out there who's trying to get the most quick and efficient outs you can,” Smith said. “I'd love to strike everybody out. But at the same time, I like to be on the mound the shortest time possible because usually that's a good thing.”

Since debuting in 2018, Smith has missed the 2019 and 2025 seasons because of Tommy John surgery. Having already been through the recovery helped him with the mental aspect of the process this time around.

“I think just the modern medicine and what we have nowadays, it's crazy what we can do with our bodies,” Smith said. “Even having the same surgery twice, guys can come back just what they were before even the first surgery. I've been pretty much the same throughout the whole rehab process. I haven't thrown any games, so I'd like to see what my game velo is. But as far as bullpen velo, I’m pretty much in line with what I was in bullpens before.”

Smith found his locker next to former Mets teammate Trevor Williams. He also played with Trevor Gott and Bryce Montes de Oca in the Mets organization. Smith has more service time than every reliever in camp besides Williams, and he finds himself in a role he wasn’t expecting after having pitched six seasons in the Majors.

“I've never really looked at myself as ‘the veteran,’” said Smith. “You don’t ever want to get to that point just because you want to stay the younger guy in your career, but that's a role that I'm happy to switch into. I had a great guy in New York, Adam Ottavino, who's like the veteran guy over there. So he showed me kind of how to do that -- if and when I ever get to that point.

“I'm happy to help guys however I can. I'm happy to talk to them about just the bullpen situation, pitching back-to-back days, whatever it is. Any help I can be, I'll do it.”