Dodgers Interview: Rortvedt reflects on a brief, but consequential run in Dodger blue
LOS ANGELES — “Emergency Dodger” is not an official position, but it fits Ben Rortvedt pretty well. A trade-deadline pickup from the Rays, he slipped into town quietly, then found himself in the middle of a pennant race when Will Smith injured his hand in September. Rortvedt handled a brand-new staff, caught some big games down the stretch, and then watched from the bench as Smith caught every inning of an epic World Series run. By early November, at a Montebello meet-and-greet, he already knew the Reds had claimed him for 2026, which made his short Dodger chapter feel even more like a flash.
Looking back on it a few days after the parade, Rortvedt admitted it was still sinking in. “It’s really cool kind of looking back,” he said. “What a series, man. What a series. You kind of reflect and there are so many moments throughout the postseason, throughout the season, that get you to this place, and you would not have it any other way.” He kept coming back to the room he had just stepped into in September. “It is extremely cool to be a part of this group and to see what they have all accomplished,” he said.
The move to Cincinnati means his time in Dodger blue was short, but he wanted to make sure fans knew how much the ride meant to him. Asked if he had a message for Dodger fans, Rortvedt did not hesitate. “I really appreciate the support and being welcomed with open arms,” he said. “It was tough when I came in, but it has been really cool to be able to come in, try to do my job, feel support from the fans, and be myself. To be welcomed that way was amazing. I really appreciate everything.”
That connection with fans came on top of a crash course with an entire pitching staff. Rortvedt arrived in September, not right after the trade, and suddenly had to be ready to catch everyone from young arms to veterans on the fly. We brought up the night he caught Blake Snell almost as soon as he met him. Rortvedt smiled and admitted that kind of thing is not easy. “It is not easy getting to know people on the fly,” he said, “but there is no other way to do it. I feel like a lot of the hiccups and errors really build relationships and show how to get through those things.”
For a catcher who came in without spring training or a full season to learn his staff, those hard nights mattered just as much as the clean ones. “I feel like the bad games are the ones where you grow and learn more about yourself and the pitchers than the games where things are going smoothly,” he said. “Just talking to guys and seeing what kind of people they are, how they like to pitch, and doing your best to gel with the player and the person, that is what it was about.”
Of course, no good postseason story is complete without a tattoo bet, and Rortvedt has one hanging over him courtesy of Miguel Rojas. Rortvedt laughed and did not try to talk his way out of it. “I will get it,” he said. “Maybe it is not the same one, but I talked to him about what I might get and it is very similar. I will get one. I do not know when it is going to be, but I will show him. I might not show everybody, but I will show him.”
Soon he will be in a different color uniform, learning a new staff and a new fan base. For a brief stretch in 2025, though, Ben Rortvedt was the emergency Dodger behind the plate, doing his part to steady things when Will Smith went down and soaking in every bit of a championship run he never expected to be on.
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