How will the addition of Will Smith impact the roles of other Texas Rangers relief pitchers?

Will Smith has signed with the Texas Rangers for one season at a $1.5 million rate. The relief pitcher was last seen as a member of the World Series-winning Houston Astros, but now joins the rebuilding Rangers.

Smith has been a strong left-handed option out of the bullpen for a long time, so even though it's just for this season, it's a good move for the Rangers. They've gone all-in the past two offseasons, bringing in players like Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom.

Smith could be a key contributor to what appears to be a contender on paper. If everything goes well, the AL West battle could be interesting between the Rangers, Astros and Seattle Mariners.

Nevertheless, whether the Rangers compete at all, Smith makes their team better. He also helps the rest of the Rangers' bullpen.

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How can Will Smith help the Texas Rangers?

Despite having a pretty poor year with -0.6 bWAR and a nearly 4.00 ERA, Smith is a lefty matchup pitcher who knows how to pitch in tough spots.

He isn't expected to provide a ton of elite outings this season, but he does improve the depth and provide new manager Brucy Bochy (who managed Smith for a while in San Francisco) with a lefty matchup pitcher out of the pen.

Nevertheless, players like Jose Leclerc, Martin Perez, Cole Winn and others who don't make the deep Rangers rotation will benefit from not being stretched so thin. This is abundantly true for fellow left-handed pitchers Perez, Brock Burke, Andrew Heaney and Taylor Hearn.

Will Smith will help Taylor Hearn

Will Smith is not expected to have an All-Star caliber season, as most projections believe he won't even record a 0.5 fWAR. His ERA figures to hover around 4.00 once again, so it's clear his best days are behind him.

However, as a depth piece and one with winning experience, the Rangers could do a lot worse for a lefty. He'll get outs when needed and doesn't have to be a high-leverage guy and that's someone every single bullpen needs.