Former Angels reliever Joe Smith finds out it’s a lot different playing with the Chicago Cubs

Reporting from Chicago —  Joe Smith knew life would be different with his new team when he looked up from the visiting bullpen at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday and noticed the Athletics had nearly sold out their stadium.

The Chicago Cubs fill ballparks, at home and on the road, where their average attendance is second in the majors, trailing only the Dodgers. The Angels entered Wednesday 24th in average road attendance.

Smith has been a Cub since 12:45 p.m. on Aug. 1, 15 minutes shy of the trade deadline, when he received a call from Angels General Manager Billy Eppler to inform him he was no longer an Angel. It was not a surprise; Smith expected it to happen. The 32-year-old right-handed reliever next spoke to his parents.

And then his much-dropped cellphone stopped responding to his touch. He could see calls and texts coming in, but he could not answer them. So, he went to the AT&T store, got a new one, and went home to update it on the computer and recoup his contacts list.

“Of course, once I updated it, none of the missed calls or texts came through,” he said. “So I don’t know who did or didn’t contact me.”

He flew to Chicago that night and has pitched in middle relief since. On Tuesday, Smith spent more than an hour in Wrigley Field’s outfield catching up with his former teammates, who teased him for not responding to their congratulatory messages.

He lamented not being able to make the playoffs again as an Angel after a 98-win season in 2014, his first year. This season, particularly, was a personal struggle, as he missed a month with a hamstring strain and then overcompensated himself into trouble when he returned.

“I’d never been through injuries like that and trying to combat it turned into bad habits, and it just sucks,” Smith said. “It sucks even more when you’re going through all that stuff near the trade deadline, and all you want to do is go to a contender.”

Richards to be tested Monday

Garrett Richards will undergo another ultrasound examination Monday in Los Angeles, 12 days after his last one demonstrated improvement within the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He had a stem-cell injection in May.

If the latest test confirms the diagnosis, he said he would start playing catch that day, with the goal of pitching competitively, ideally in instructional league play, by October.

“If everything looks the same as it did or even better, then I’ll start throwing an actual baseball on an actual field in an actual baseball game,” Richards said. “So that’ll be cool. Everything feels completely normal.”

For the last week, the 28-year-old right-hander has been simulating throwing with weighted-ball exercises, and Manager Mike Scioscia said he has spoken up about his excitement to anyone within earshot. Richards has little doubt he will be approved to throw. It is what’s beyond he’s unsure of.

“Once we get out to 120 feet and play long toss, I think that’ll be the true test,” he said.

pedro.moura@latimes.com

Twitter: @pedromoura