A’s get reliever Chad Smith from Rockies for minor leaguer

DENVER (AP) — The Oakland Athletics picked up reliever Chad Smith in a trade with the Colorado Rockies. The A’s sent minor league pitcher Jeff Criswell to Colorado. Smith made 15 appearances for the Rockies last season, going 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA. The right-hander spent most of the season Albuquerque, where he had 12 saves for the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate. Criswell worked his way through the Athletics’ minor-league system last season. He went a combined 4-10 with a 4.03 ERA while pitching at High-A Lansing, Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas. He also had 119 strikeouts over 118 1/3 innings and walked 45.