The Anaheim Angels have agreed to a deal with free agent reliever Joe Smith, according to reports on Twitter. The deal is for 3 years, $15 million.
Smith is a sidearming righthander who was a third round pick of the Mets in 2006, and who was traded to Cleveland as part of the three-way deal that involved J.J. Putz and Franklin Gutierrez.
Smith will be 30 to start the 2014 season, and is an extreme groundballer who has allowed a 2.42 ERA in 197 innings over the past three seasons even though his FIP is in the 3.30-3.40 range over that time. Smith has benefited from a BABIP of .266 over the past three years, and a strand rate of around 80%.
DIPS theory would suggest that Smith is unlikely to maintain that sort of BABIP and strand rate going forward, and that when those gravitate more towards normal, his ERA will rise. LAA is basically betting that Smith will pitch for the next three years like his ERA indicates, not like his peripherals indicate.