Will Smith isn’t even a top-five player on the Dodgers, and that’s not a knock — it’s a roster flex that borders on absurd. The man is one of the best catchers in baseball, and he’s maybe the sixth name you’d circle if you were building a panic list. That’s the kind of problem every other franchise would love to have.
Except right now, it is a problem. Smith has been out with a neck injury, and his rehab hit a wall — he was shut down from baseball activities in the middle of trying to work his way back. Dave Roberts put the earliest possible return at mid-August, which is a window, not a promise. Neck injuries don’t do timetables. They do moods.
So with the trade deadline bearing down and the catching position suddenly looking like a question mark on a team chasing its third straight World Series, the obvious move would be to go shopping. Add a veteran. Buy insurance. Do the thing contenders do when a premium player at a premium position goes dark.
The Dodgers are not doing the thing.
“Despite Smith’s prolonged absence, the Dodgers do not plan to pursue major-league catching depth and will continue to rely on Dalton Rushing for the bulk of the starts,” The Athletic‘s Katie Woo reported Monday.
Rushing was the organization’s top prospect at one point, and now he’s getting his shot at the major league level and not looking out of place. The plan is straightforward: Rushing starts until Smith is ready, then slides into the backup role. The Dodgers have decided they’ve seen enough to trust him with the job through the deadline and beyond.
Here’s where it gets cold. The math on this decision is either shrewd or reckless, and the difference depends entirely on two bodies staying healthy. If Smith returns around mid-August and Rushing keeps producing, the Dodgers just saved prospect capital and roster flexibility for other deadline needs — bullpen help, a bench bat, whatever Andrew Friedman’s spreadsheet demands. That’s the upside, and on a roster this deep, it’s a reasonable bet.
The downside is the one nobody wants to say out loud. If Smith’s neck doesn’t cooperate and Rushing takes a foul tip off the hand in August — after the deadline has passed — the Dodgers walk into October with whatever’s left in the organizational cupboard behind the plate. That’s not a depth chart. That’s a prayer.
Every contender rolls the dice on something at the deadline. The Dodgers just chose to roll them on a rookie catcher and a rehabbing veteran’s cervical spine. They’ve earned the benefit of the doubt — back-to-back rings will do that — but this is the kind of bet that doesn’t get a second chance if it misses.
Smith’s status remains the variable that determines whether this looks like genius or a gap in the armor come October.
Sources
- Yahoo Sports — Dodgers Have Reportedly Made Decision On Adding Catcher At Trade Deadline
- The Athletic — Katie Woo reporting (cited via Yahoo Sports)