Cody Snavely
On the eve of Opening Day across the league, the Dodgers continued their historic offseason which has seen them spend over one billion dollars locking up catcher Will Smith to a massive 10-year $140 million contract extension.
It was reported earlier in the offseason that the Dodgers and Will Smith have not had any contract negations as Smith was set to be a free agent after the 2025 season.
Smith, who will turn 29 on Thursday has averaged 23 homers and 80 RBIs per season since 2021. Since his callup in 2019 Smith has become one of the best catchers in the league posting a career slash line of .263/.358/.484, an OPS of .842, 91 HR and 308 RBI.
Defensively, Smith is no slouch either, as he has posted a career .997 fielding percentage and thrown out 22% of would-be base stealers in his career.
Smith, an integral part of the Dodgers offense slotting in as the team cleanup hitter is poised to have a great season with star talent hitting all around him. Now his next step is becoming one of the best catchers in Dodgers history.
What does this mean for farm system?
One area of strength for the Los Angles Dodgers is their farm system which is loaded with frontline catching talent.
The Dodgers feature four catchers in its Top 30 list. Dalton Rushing (No. 1), Diego Cartaya (No. 9), Thayron Liranzo (No. 10) and Yeiner Fernandez (No. 28).
The Dodgers are the only team in Major League Baseball to feature three catchers among their top 10 prospects. No other team features more than one.
Rushing who placed at No. 75 on MLB Pipeline’s preseason Top 100 slashed .228/.404/.452/.856 with 15 home runs in 381 plate appearances at High-A Great Lakes in 2023.
With the extension of Will Smith all of these guys do not have a spot which makes some of them expandable for future trades. However, with Austin Barnes only under team control until the end of the 2024 season with a $3.5 million club option for 2025 that the team will likely decline we could see Rushing or Cartaya take his place as soon as next season.
Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows & promotions, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
