President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said "it'll be awhile" before Smith (shoulder) will be able to pitch in games, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Smith is recovering from shoulder surgery that he underwent in June and isn't expected to be ready for the early part of the 2019 season. The hope is that the right-hander will be able to pick up a throwing program sometime during spring training, after which a more concrete timetable for his return could emerge. Smith posted a 3.77 ERA with 18 strikeouts across 14.1 frames in 2018 before getting hurt.