Dodgers News: Ben Rortvedt Added to Roster, Freeland Optioned, Alexis Díaz DFA’d
In the wake of Will Smith's injury, the Dodgers have added Ben Rortvedt to the active roster...
PITTSBURGH, PA—Before tonight’s series finale versus the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Los Angeles Dodgers made a flurry of roster moves in the wake of All-Star catcher Will Smith’s hand injury.
Smith, 30, has yet to be officially placed on the injured list, as the team sent him to get further imaging on his right hand after a foul ball hit the backstop during the second inning of yesterday’s game.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated that Smith would, for now, be listed day-to-day, but was unlikely to play this weekend, and confirmed that Smith’s X-rays were clean.
Rather than place Smith on the injured list now and risk losing him for ten full days in the heat of not only a race in the National League West but for the number two seed in the NL, the team will ride with three catchers on their 28-man roster.
Before today’s game, the Dodgers announced that Ben Rortvedt has been recalled from Triple-A OKC.
Rortvedt, 27, was acquired just before the trade deadline in the three-team deal that dealt Hunter Feduccia to the Tampa Bay Rays. The minor league catcher is hitting .228 in seventeen games since joining the Comets.
To make room on the active roster, the Dodgers opted to option their number three prospect Alex Freeland back to Triple-A OKC, which explains why veteran infielder Miguel Rojas was in the lineup at third base today.
It has been a struggle for Freeland since making his debut earlier in the summer as the switch-hitting infielder is slashing .190/.292/.310 with a below league average 73 wRC+ along with a concerning 36.1 strikeout-rate.
Before joining the big club, Freeland appeared in ninety-four games for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets, slashing .253/.377/.421 with twelve homers and seventy-one RBI.
To make room on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster for Rortvedt, the Dodgers also announced that they’ve DFA’d former All-Star closer Alexis Díaz.
Díaz, 28, appeared in nine games for Los Angeles this season and posted a 5.00 ERA but was unable to return back to that 2023 form.
The Dodgers took a risk when acquiring Díaz from the Reds, but in the end, it did not work out.
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