Dodgers Preview 2026: Catcher
A new era behind the plate begins as Smith and Rushing take over duties together.
GLENDALE, AZ—Continuing our positional preview of the Los Angeles Dodgers, we move to the catching position, which, compared to the start of last season, has gone through some changes.
Gone is long-time Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes, who was released last summer to pave the way for the new Dodgers backup catcher, Dalton Rushing.
And leading the pack is yet again Will Smith, who, despite some injuries the last two seasons, has remained one of the league’s best catchers. But what is in store for 2026?
Will Smith
While the World Series hero tour is still in full swing for veteran utilityman Miguel Rojas, let us not forget that Will Smith hit the game-winning home run in the Fall Classic.
Smith is now entering Year Three of his 10-year, $140 million contract, which he signed during the 2024 regular season.
Since grabbing the reins as the Dodgers’ primary starting backstop during the 2020 season, Smith has continued to not only improve at the plate, becoming one of the best hitters at the position, but has also improved defensively massively.
While Smith ranks below average in Blocks Above Average (22nd percentile) and framing (which is set to become less relevant with the new ABS), he was excellent yet again in Caught Stealing Above Average (87th percentile) and Pop Time (61st percentile).
Offensively, Smith has yet to match his career-high home run total in 2021, where the right-handed slugger smashed 25 long balls, but a large reason for that is the fact that he hasn’t played more than 130 games since the 2022 season.
The reason for that is the Dodgers have prioritized Smith’s health and getting multiple days off throughout the long 162-game season, in an effort to have him fresh for what they hope is yet another long October run in the postseason.
Still, injuries have impacted Smith behind the plate; last season, he missed the final month of the regular season and the first few games of October after being hit by a foul ball and sustaining a right-hand fracture.
Despite that, FanGraphs projects yet another great season for Smith, where he’s expected to slash .255/.352/.444 with a 122 wRC+ and 3.3 fWAR while playing 126 games.
But for Los Angeles, their biggest hurdle is how to keep Smith healthy all season.
How Will Dalton Ruhsing Adjust to a Backup Role in Year Two?
In order to keep Will Smith fresh for the long season and October, the Dodgers are going to depend on their former top prospect, Dalton Rushing.
Rushing’s first stint at the Major League level did not go as planned, with the left-handed hitting catcher posting just a 62 wRC+ in just 53 games.
Part of Rushing’s struggles likely stemmed from the mental side more than the physical, as it was the first time in the 24-year-old’s career that he had been relegated to a backup role.
Now, after a full offseason to prepare, Rushing is now not only focused on backing up Will Smith, but also Freddie Freeman at first base in an effort togive him at-bats for the regular season.
FanGraphs agrees that Rushing will take a step forward in his career in Year two, improving across the board with a .228/.323/.411 slash line and 106 wRC+.
Still, the former top prospect hopes to make even bigger strides than those projections, as Rushing was one of the Dodgers’ top hitters in Triple-A, where he slugged 54 home runs and posted a .932 OPS in his minor league career.
Other Options
Should something happen to either Rushing or Smith, the Dodgers’ catching depth is very thin as of right now, with the only other logical option in the minor leagues being Chuckie Robinson, who re-signed with the Dodgers on a minor league deal earlier this winter.
The team could also keep an eye on Ben Rortvedt, whom they lost on waivers to the New York Mets last week. With him competing for a backup job with Austin Barnes in Queens and out of minor league options, he could be on the market again for the Dodgers to scoop up.
DodgersBeat Grade: A
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