NASHVILLE -- Early reaction to the Red Sox' trade with the Seattle Mariners Monday -- sending Wade Miley and Jonathan Aro to the Mariners in exchange for righty reliever Carson Smith and lefty swingman Roenis
Elias -- was highly favorable.
"I really like Smith,'' said a talent evaluator with a National League club which had discussed targeting Smith. "You need those kind of arms out there. He can strike people out and take a lot of pressure off Koji (Uehara) and (Junichi) Tazawa.
"The way the game is going, you need a few power arms in the back end of your pen. I liked what they did in getting (closer Craig) Kimbrel and now this. They're going to make it a six-inning game a lot of nights.''
Added another evaluator: "Miley's a decent starter, but they had some depth there and they get a guy who's still young and under control for (five more) seasons. Smith pitched at (big) Safeco Field, but I wouldn't worry about him in Fenway because he gets a ton of groundballs with that heavy sinker. And that's when they put the ball in place -- he's going to strike a lot of people out.
"Give credit to (Dave) Dombrowski - he's really improved that bullpen with the two moves. And it's not just the addition. It's what it means to push Uehara and Tazawa back a slot. There's less pressure on them and more options in the late innings.''