After the shock of AA signing Smith wore off, I am starting to not hate it as much. I think I let the fact I thought I had AA all figured out bias my view against the deal a bit too much.
While it is generally bad to give BP arms long term deals, I was shortchanging just how good Smith is. AA got a nearly elite BP arm (perhaps elite depending on semantics) for the price the Cubs paid Chatwood or the Yanks paid Britton. Smith is a good deal better than both guys, so it was a good value signing in that sense. I'm still not a fan if this deal was made at the expense of other needs like C, 3B, and even a SP, but it's not the horrible deal I called it initially.
Keep in mind CK tanked his own market with an absurd asking price. That's why he didn't sign, not because the Braves didn't have needs in the BP.
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