Feduccia starts at catcher for LAD on Wednesday

The Dodgers could certainly use Smith back since they’re rolling with Ben Rortvedt and Hunter Feduccia as their catching tandem with Dalton Rushing (elbow) on the injured list. The 31-year-old franchise backstop resumed baseball activities in late July and figures to make it back to Los Angeles by the end of August. He’s going to need a minor league rehab assignment given how much time he’s missed.

No surprise after Rushing was scratched from Sunday’s series finale against the Red Sox. It certainly explains why the Dodgers went out and acquired both Ben Rortvedt and Hunter Feduccia at the trade deadline. They’ll need to cobble things together behind the plate until Will Smith (neck) is ready to return in a couple weeks.

A little additional catching depth can’t hurt, right? The Dodgers are dealing with some razor-thin margins at the position while Will Smith works his way back from a neck injury. Dalton Rushing is also banged up at the moment. Feduccia began his career in Los Angeles and broke into the majors with the Dodgers back in 2024. He’s merely a depth addition.

The 27-year-old Hicks, who won’t be a free agent until after 2030, is probably overachieving some at .282/.363/.432 as a sophomore this year, but he’ll still provide a nice lift over the Rays’ catching duo of Hunter Feduccia and Nick Fortes. Since Hicks and Feduccia are lefty hitters and Fortes is a righty, it’s Feduccia who would seem to be in line for a demotion. No official word yet on whether the Marlins will promote Agustín Ramírez. They already had Brian Navarette up as a third catcher with Hicks often DHing, so they could pick someone else if they don’t see Ramírez getting enough playing time as a DH and backup to Joe Mack.

Technically, there are games happening shortly after Monday’s trade deadline. The Dodgers picked up backup catcher Ben Rortvedt from the Mets in a small deal, which seems to signal that Rushing could be headed to the injured list. The 25-year-old was scratched from Sunday’s series finale against the Red Sox with a minor arm issue. There should be some clarity on his status in the coming days.

Brayden Taylor is one of three prospects Miami is getting back, says Will Sammon. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman says Adrian Santana and Jacob Kisting are the other two. The Marlins didn’t have a dire need for Hicks as a catcher following Joe Mack’s emergence, so this makes a ton of sense. The Rays will probably send down fellow left-handed-hitting catcher Hunter Feduccia and keep Nick Fortes as Hicks’ backup. The Marlins could recall Agustín Ramírez to DH and play behind Mack.

Dalton Rushing is dealing with minor arm irritation, whatever that means, and Eliezer Alfonzo struggled behind the dish on Sunday Night Baseball, so the Dodgers are bringing back an old friend. Rortvedt has not appeared in the big leagues this season and is hitting .234/.319/.414 in 167 plate appearances in Triple-A. McDermott was a former intriguing starting pitching prospect for the Orioles who the Dodgers designated for assignment on July 31st.

Feduccia’s homer off Shane Baz came in his 182nd plate appearance since he debuted with the Dodgers in 2024. He’s up to .278/.365/.370 in 65 plate appearances on the season, which is pretty encouraging in light of how much he struggled for the Rays last year (.151/.265/.209 in 102 plate appearances). He was taking a backseat to Nick Fortes initially this season, but he’s now getting the nod most of the time against right-handers.

Assuming he sticks with the team, Rortvedt will be functional catcher depth for the Mets after going unclaimed on waivers.

The Mets claimed Rortvedt off waivers from the Dodgers in February, but he did not make the team as the backup catcher. If he goes unclaimed, he could choose to stay in the organization in the minors.