Dodgers News: Dodgers Encouraged by Will Smith’s Progress
Could Will Smith be an option for the Dodgers during the Wild Card Series?
LOS ANGELES, CA—Over the final month of the regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been without All-Star catcher Will Smith due to a right microfracture that he sustained on the Dodgers’ road trip in Pittsburgh.
Initially, what was thought to be just a right-hand bone bruise, Smith was able to avoid the injured list and play in the middle game of the three-game Colorado Rockies series at Dodger Stadium in mid-September.
However, after Smith was a late scratch the following day, the team sent their backstop to get further imaging, which showed the microfracture.
Smith was placed on the 10-day injured list and has since been working his way back to rejoin the Dodgers during the postseason, but his spot on the Wild Card roster is in doubt.
Yesterday, during the Dodgers team workout, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated that the team was “encouraged” by Smith’s progress and that the right-handed slugger would be taking live at-bats to see where he’s at.
If all went well, we could see the Dodgers run with three catchers, a trio of Will Smith, Ben Rortvedt, and Dalton Rushing; if not, expect Rortvedt to get the bulk of starts behind the plate.
If Smith can return, it would be a massive boost to the Dodgers’ lineup, as the catcher was having a career year, hitting .296/.404/.389 with a 153 wRC+ and was elite at holding runners on the basepaths, ranking in the 87th percentile in Caught Stealing Above Average.
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