Guardians broadcaster has a wild analysis after Drew Smyly's rough Cubs' inning
Guardians color analyst Rick Manning shocked fans with his wild observation of Cubs pitcher Drew Smyly
Chicago Cubs reliever Drew Smyly was the victim of a monstrous home run from Guardians outfielder Jhonskensy Noel, prompting a bizarre analysis from color analyst Rick Manning.
After Noel, whose nickname is Big Christmas, sent a hanging breaking ball over the left field wall for a long home run, Manning commented that Smyly "wants to kill himself" after the play.
The call was pretty over the top for the situation, as the Guardians took a one-run lead in the sixth inning of an interleague game. While it was certainly a bad pitch and Noel made Smyly pay for it, saying that the southpaw wants to kill himself is fairly extreme.
What's more, Smyly is quietly having a great year out of the Cubs bullpen. Even after Noel's dinger, Smyly's ERA sits at a stellar 2.83 over 47.2 innings pitched this season. The 35-year-old is likely heading into free agency this offseason and he should get himself a solid deal if he continues to pitch well.
Will Smyly return to the Cubs next year?
Smyly does have a $10 million mutual option for 2025 that should be considered given his production, but I expect the team would rather invest that money elsewhere considering Smyly is not a starter anymore. That being said, a reunion wouldn't surprise me given the team's lack of lefties. If he is willing to take a less lucrative deal and stay in the bullpen permanently.
Aside from Smyly, the only other left-handed reliever who has gotten a look this year was Luke Little, who was sidelined indefinitely with a lat injury in July. Before he went down, Little saw flashes of success thanks to his velocity and pitch mix, but the 23-year-old struggled with command issues. The other main weapon the Cubs used against left-handed bats was Mark Leiter Jr., who was traded to the Yankees at the deadline.
Whether Smyly stays or leaves in free agency, bullpen upgrades will likely be a big focus of the Cubs' offseason.