Lawrence Halverson
Will Smith Inks $140 Million Over 10 Years in Extension. What Does this Mean for the Future?
On Wednesday, March 27th, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced they had signed catcher Will Smith to a 10-year, $140 million contract extension that keeps Smith in Dodger blue for many years to come. Will Smith joins a list of players including Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Shohei Ohtani, who have signed long-term contracts in recent years to ensure Los Angeles has a core group of players that will continue to dominate Major League Baseball for the foreseeable future. However, Will Smith’s extension also raises some questions within the Dodgers’ organization regarding some of their young catching prospects and what the future may look like for them now that the catching position has been filled long term.
According to MLB’s website, catcher Dalton Rushing ranks as the Dodgers’ number 1 overall prospect, with fellow catchers Diego Cartaya and Thayron Liranzo coming in at #9 and #10 overall, respectively, which is a long-winded way of saying the Dodgers’ farm system is absolutely loaded beyond belief at the catcher position. Now, I think we can all agree that having a wealth of prospects at the catching position is never a bad thing. However, when the starting catcher inks a 10-year contract, it starts to become blurred as to how these prospects’ futures will pan out. But not to worry, because I believe one of these fine gentlemen will have a fantastic career in Milwaukee when they get exchanged for Willy Adames and Corbin Burnes… oh… wait… that’s right, we’re too late on Corbin Burnes… Okay, well, Willy Adames will still do just fine.
All jokes aside, I am sure Andrew Friedman will continue to work his magic and get a great return for our catching depth, and there’s always a possibility a transition can be made to either 1st or 3rd base, which is common for catchers, but I think the trade route is the most likely.
Getting back to Will Smith, I think this is a fantastic contract that makes sense for both parties, and the man deserves it 100%. When I think of his seemingly out-of-nowhere introduction into the league with his magical walk-off against the Philadelphia Phillies that just felt like poetic justice, or his late-inning home run off the other Will Smith to ignite the Dodgers to a historic 3-1 NLCS comeback against the Braves, the more and more I think, the more and more it all makes sense. Will Smith is our guy, and I think there are nothing but positives in having him manning the catching position for the next 10 years. I also believe he serves as a beacon to the capabilities of the Dodgers farm system and how they can locate and develop literal generational talents. 2024 is going to be an insane season, but knowing that Will Smith will be a part of it and beyond is enough to get me excited for the future.
