\u201cSo now we\u2019re just, let my body move naturally, let me rotate in a natural window and I think that\u2019s going to let the baseball come out a little bit cleaner,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
Senior adviser to pitching Brian Bannister said the Sox are working on getting Smith \u201cback to what made you you, what we\u2019ve always liked about you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came into camp with a more simplified delivery this year,\u201d Bannister said on Sunday. \u201cHe had a huge workload spike last year, and I think his goal was to throw more strikes. But what it has proven is just throwing him off a little bit. \u2026 He just lost some of the qualities that made him unique. Pitchers often do that in an effort to actually become better pitchers or build upon the previous year. But in reality, sometimes it forces them to take a step back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal is to recreate some of that magic he had that made him an All-Star last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ctc-z-White-Sox-Brewers-Baseball_261043466.jpg\")
Chicago White Sox pitcher Shane Smith throws during the first inning of an opening-day game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo\/Kayla Wolf)<\/p>\n
Smith has allowed 12 runs (10 earned) on 11 hits with three strikeouts and four walks in 4 2\/3 innings this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, I need to make adjustments,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThe way I\u2019ve been throwing the ball is not good enough. I\u2019m just trying to make those adjustments and make sure I can go out (Tuesday) and feel confident in my ability to throw the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
He surrendered three earned runs in 1 2\/3 innings on opening day against the Brewers<\/a> in Milwaukee and seven earned runs on eight hits in three innings on April 1 against the Marlins<\/a> in Miami.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we evaluated him in the minor leagues with the Brewers in the context of selecting for the Rule 5 (draft), one of the things we liked is that his fastball really performed,\u201d Bannister said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t unique on paper as far as the movement or anything. But you look at him, go watch him move, he\u2019s a very hyper-mobile guy. He can get into positions a lot of pitchers can\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were several elements of his delivery we liked. He had this unique little step forward that threw hitters off on their timing and then he would speed up right after that. So he\u2019d go slow, fast. He would get his front side up and back a lot, so you\u2019d get some visual deception in a way that (Detroit Tigers ace) Tarik Skubal does.\u201d<\/p>\n Bannister believes that in Smith\u2019s case, previously eliminating some of those elements \u201calso eliminates some of those things that are hard to quantify.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe call them residuals \u2014 the timing deception, the visual deceptions,\u201d Bannister said.<\/p>\n The Sox are confident some of those unique factors will be on display again.<\/p>\n \u201cI think what\u2019s good, and I\u2019ve had a lot of success with it, is when you are doing things the pitcher has done before, you are not asking him to do something new,\u201d Bannister said. \u201cYou are just recreating a period in time.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith believes the tweaks should help with his fastball command.<\/p>\n \u201cJust creating tension in my upper half,\u201d Smith said. \u201cNot muscularly, like white-knuckling it. I can rotate really well, and I think I\u2019m hindering my own rotation. So, just trying to get back to not like, \u2018Hey, do exactly what you did last year,\u2019 because it\u2019s so hard to emulate what you did, because deliveries evolve and repertoires evolve.<\/p>\n \u201cBut try to take some of the pillars of what I did last year and make them work in the now.\u201d<\/p>\n Sox claim pitcher Doug Nikhazy off waivers The Sox claimed left-handed pitcher Doug Nikhazy off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians on Monday and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte.<\/p>\n Nikhazy, 26, was designated for assignment by Cleveland on March 30.<\/p>\n Nikhazy made two appearances (one start) with the Guardians in 2025 in his first major-league season, allowing six runs on five hits over four innings (a 13.50 ERA).<\/p>\n With the move, the 40-man roster increases to 40.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shane Smith really liked how he threw the ball toward the end of last season. The right-hander tried…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":667346,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2379],"tags":[47,5,138,49,2561,205,4,256,3399,396,2562],"class_list":{"0":"post-667345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-white-sox","8":"tag-baltimore-orioles","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-chicago","11":"tag-chicago-white-sox","12":"tag-chicagowhitesox","13":"tag-doug-nikhazy","14":"tag-mlb","15":"tag-mlb-baseball","16":"tag-shane-smith","17":"tag-white-sox","18":"tag-whitesox"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116360576319368885","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=667345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/667346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=667345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=667345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=667345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"Cleveland](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP25117302828045.jpg\")
Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Doug Nikhazy delivers against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning in the second game of a doubleheader, Saturday, April 26, 2025, in Cleveland, (AP Photo\/David Richard)<\/p>\n