Smyly (arm) will open the season on the disabled list with an elbow strain and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks, Bob Dutton of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.
Although it isn't anticipated that he will need surgery, Smyly will seek a second opinion, as elbow injuries are certainly nothing to take lightly for pitchers. The southpaw was scratched from his last scheduled start of the spring with arm soreness that turned out to be a flexor bundle strain in his throwing elbow. GM Jerry Dipoto hinted that the World Baseball Classic may have been to blame for the injury, where Smyly threw 4.2 innings in a win over Venezuela. Barring any further setbacks, it would appear the earliest he could return to the rotation would be mid-May, as left-hander Ariel Miranda takes his spot in the rotation.