Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — In the big leagues, you need to have depth at catcher. Nobody catches 150 games anymore, so you’ve got to be able to plug different backstops in at various points during the season. Luckily, the catching position is one of the Dodgers’ deepest positions, with two solid major leaguers on the roster, and a phenom waiting in the wings. Of course, for the most part, this spot will be locked down by the Dodgers’ budding superstar Will Smith.
Will Smith (2022: .260/.343/.465, 24 HR)
With barely two full seasons of major league experience under his belt, Smith is emerging as one of the top backstops in the entire game, as witnessed by his inclusion on the star-studded WBC roster. Like in 2021, Smith had a solid and consistent season. He didn’t quite take that big step forward that I was anticipating from him, but he was plenty good just the same. His .808 OPS was good for second place among all qualifying catchers last year, trailing only Philly’s JT Realmuto. When you consider that offense is usually a bonus from this position, the Dodgers are rightfully over the moon with what they’ve gotten from Smith. There is still room for improvement defensively, but the 27-year-old Smith is just now coming into his prime. Look for him to man the position a good 130+ games this year.
Austin Barnes (2022: .212/.312/.380, 8 HR)
We at DodgersBeat are big Austin Barnes fans, and it’s great to seem him doing so well for Team Mexico in the WBC. Though Barnsey doesn’t figure to start a lot for the Dodgers in 2023, he still has value for the team. Now entering his 9th big league season, Barnes is a gifted game caller, and really excels at bringing the best out of his pitchers. And, not coincidentally, he is still the target of choice for one Mr. Clayton Kershaw. With JD Martinez now pretty much the DH for the Dodgers, that might affect playing time for Barnes, as Dave Roberts won’t be able to give Will Smith a breather and play him at DH from time to time. However, barring injury, I would imagine Barnes ends up appearing in around 50 games this year, and his presence in the clubhouse is so positive otherwise that it will be hard to see him go when the time finally comes to call up Diego Cartaya to be the heir apparent.
Other options…
As stated above, all eyes this year will be on the continued development of the team’s top rated prospect, Venezuelan Diego Cartaya, who will start the season with Double-A Tulsa this year. He’s shown that he’s got all the tools to be a star on the big stage, so it will just be a matter of when, and not if, that happens. And not only that, the Dodgers seemed to have struck gold with their first pick of the 2022 draft, Dalton Rushing out of Louisville. The guy lit it up in rookie ball last year, and it will be interesting to see how this club decides to play the situation they find themselves in with a glut of catching talent. Potential trade bait in here somewhere?
DODGERSBEAT RATING: B+
