Dalton

Rushing

Even with Will Smith’s hand keeping him out of the lineup for four of the Dodgers’ six games, Rushing had received only one postseason at-bat to date. Smith is back starting now, so the Dodgers will drop their third catcher in favor of Casparius, who finished the season in Triple-A after posting a 4.64 ERA in 77 2/3 innings. This puts the Dodgers back up to 12 pitchers, not counting Shohei Ohtani.

The latest development explains why Smith has taken longer than originally anticipated to return from what was initially diagnosed as a right-hand contusion. While he was optimistic overall, Roberts noted that Smith’s availability for the start of the postseason is still “up in the air.” It’ll be Ben Rortvedt handling the bulk of the catching duties while Smith is sidelined with top prospect Dalton Rushing in a reserve role.

Rushing returns to Los Angeles’ catching mix alongside Ben Rortvedt for Tuesday’s battle against the Phillies after missing just over one week recovering from a left shin contusion. He’ll split the catching duties until starter Will Smith (hand) is back from the injured list.

The fact that Rushing is already returning to minor league action just five days after landing on the injured list, it seems likely that he’ll be ready to rejoin the Dodgers as soon as he’s eligible to do so. He’s working his way back from a bruised left shin that he suffered when fouling a ball off of his leg on Friday evening.

Fortunately, a CT scan revealed that Rushing isn’t dealing with any fractures after fouling a ball off of his leg on Friday night, but he’s still going to miss a bit of time with the bone bruise. Chuckie Robinson was promoted from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday in a corresponding move to add depth behind the plate for the Dodgers.

It’s still unclear whether or not the 24-year-old backstop will require a trip to the injured list, but it sounds like he was at least able to avoid any significant injury. Ben Rortvedt is expected to see the bulk of the action through the weekend with Will Smith (hand) banged up as well.

Not great. The Dodgers are going to bring up some additional emergency catching depth with both Rushing and starter Will Smith (hand) dealing with physical issues. It’ll likely be Ben Rortvedt handling the catching duties for the remainder of the weekend. Initial X-rays came back negative for any fractures. However, the 24-year-old top prospect is slated to undergo a precautionary CT scan this weekend to determine whether he suffered a serious injury. There should be an update on his status relatively soon. It wouldn’t be surprising if he required a trip to the injured list just for roster management purposes alone.

The 30-year-old backstop is expected to sit out the entire weekend series. Dalton Rushing will once again start behind the dish in his place and will bat eighth for the Dodgers against Orioles’ right-hander Dean Kremer.

It’s good news that the 30-year-old backstop won’t be looking at an extended absence, but they’ll have to play short-handed through the weekend with Dalton Rushing and Ben Rortvedt sharing the load behind the plate.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed postgame that intial X-rays came back negative for any fractures. It’s a relief for Los Angeles, and fantasy managers, following Smith’s early exit from Wednesday’s contest after taking a foul ball off his throwing hand. It doesn’t sound like he’s facing an extended absence, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see rookie Dalton Rushing handle the catching duties for a couple days.