Hunter

Feduccia

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.

With both Dalton Rushing (elbow) and Will Smith (neck) on the injured list, Feduccia and Ben Rortvedt are the two catchers on the Dodgers’ active roster. Both hit left-handed, and today’s start is against a left-handed pitcher, so it’s still unclear who will see the majority of starts against righties. This will likely remain a muddled situation that we don’t want to chase in fantasy leagues.

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.

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.

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.

Fortes is hitting .304/.360/.565 this spring, compared to .087/.222/.261 for Hunter Feduccia. It bodes well for Fortes being the Rays’ primary catcher to begin the year, even though Feduccia’s left-handedness would set up a natural platoon. Feduccia just hasn’t hit at all since being acquired from the Dodgers at the deadline last year.

Feduccia was really disappointing after being acquired from the Dodgers at last year’s deadline — he hit .151 with no homers in 102 plate appearances — but since the Rays declined to upgrade over the winter, he’s probably going to make the team alongside Nick Fortes. That Feduccia is a lefty could allow the Rays to go with a true platoon behind the plate, but it seems likely that Fortes will get the majority of the playing time initially.

Although he usually has the platoon advantage, the left-handed-hitting Feduccia is batting .145/.267/.194 in 75 plate appearances since being acquired by the Rays at the trade deadline. The Rays did a full reset behind the plate by trading Danny Jansen and acquiring Feduccia and Nick Fortes in July, but the position still seems like a question mark heading into next year. If they don’t upgrade, then Dominic Keegan could factor in as a potential alternative behind the plate.