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William Smith is a fantasy baseball waiver wire pickup for closers and saves. Target Smith as a free agent relief pitcher for saves on the waiver wire.
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
ROSTERED IN: 56% of Leagues
ANALYSIS: William Smith signed a one-year, $five million contract with the Kansas City Royals this offseason, where he began his career in 2012. The 34-year-old racked up 22 saves while posting a 4.40 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 55:17 K: BB across 57 1/3 innings for the Texas Rangers in 2023. Smith is competing with James McArthur to be Kansas City's primary closer.
Smith struggled mightily after the All-Star break, posting a 6.12 ERA and 1.32 WHIP over 25 innings before eventually ceding the closer role to Jose Leclerc in August. McArthur, on the other hand, ended last season on a high note, owning an impressive 19:0 K: BB across 16 1/3 scoreless innings.
#Royals bullpen is the talk of today, so here's a story from yesterday on reliever Will Smith and what he brings to KC this time around: https://t.co/VOsU3k0yLn
— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) February 17, 2024
Royals manager Matt Quatraro has yet to define any bullpen roles, but he could lean on Smith to close games due to his experience, while McArthur would be used in more high-leverage situations. Smith entered Saturday's game against the Twins in the ninth inning with the game tied 1-1. The veteran allowed four runs on two hits and two walks without striking out a batter over an inning in Saturday's 5-1 loss to the Twins. Smith imploded in the ninth and was tagged with his first loss of the season.
Smith is widely available, as he's only rostered in 56% of Yahoo leagues. Despite Saturday's implosion, fantasy managers should consider adding Smith to 12-plus-team leagues, as he is poised to log double-digit saves for the third time in four seasons.
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