Smith will begin the season on the disabled list after an MRI revealed a strained flexor mass muscle in his right forearm, Mike Silverman of the Boston Herald reports.
It's expected that Smith will pitch this season, but no timetable for his return was offered up by the Red Sox upon the release of the initial report of his diagnosis Tuesday. With Smith on the shelf to begin the year, the Red Sox will have to lean more heavily on Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara as the primary links in the late-inning bridge to closer Craig Kimbrel. Smith's absence probably locks in a spot in the bullpen for Matt Barnes.