Will

Smith

This is what Dave Roberts said would happen last night, and so it comes to pass. It’s backdated to June 8, so Smith is only guaranteed to miss the next seven days. Dalton Rushing figures to get most of the playing time in Smith’s absence and is a recommended pick up in the short term if you need catching help.

Dalton Rushing will handle the catching duties for Los Angeles with Chuckie Robinson coming up from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take Smith’s roster spot ahead of Thursday’s series finale in Pittsburgh. The 31-year-old backstop has missed four straight games due to neck stiffness. The move will be backdated a couple days, which means Smith should return at some point next week.

All signs point to Smith hitting the injured list later this week. He’s sitting out his fourth consecutive game on Wednesday night against the Pirates while he continues to deal with neck stiffness. The Dodgers are obviously prioritizing the postseason over everything else, which is why they would rather give their 31-year-old star backstop some additional time off to put the issue to bed rather than take any chances. It’ll be Dalton Rushing handling the bulk of the catching duties in his absence, which is a definite short-term boost to his fantasy appeal.

Smith will miss his third straight game while dealing with stiffness in his neck. He’ll sit with Dalton Rushing earning another start behind the plate in Smith’s absence.

Smith was scratched from Saturday’s lineup due to stiffness in his neck. The expectation was that he was going to return to action on Sunday, but manager Dave Roberts wanted to give him an extra day to make sure that he gets right. Dalton Rushing will start behind the plate once again on Sunday afternoon.

Neck stiffness from trying to hear what Dalton Rushing is saying about him behind his back. Smith was going to sit out one game in favor of Rushing this weekend anyway. Now it’ll be tonight’s, rather than Sunday’s.

Dalton Rushing is starting in his place against the Angels.

Dalton Rushing will handle the catching duties at Chase Field in this one. Smith has started six of the last eight games behind the plate for Los Angeles. He’s homered twice during that span.

With both Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts resting, Smith made his first ever start as a leadoff hitter and wasted no time in putting the Dodgers on the board against Landon Roupp. It was technically his second homer as a leadoff man. He’d come off the bench to occupy that spot twice previously, and one of those two at-bats produced a walkoff three-run homer against the Rockies’ Scott Oberg on June 23, 2019. Smith has yet to get hot at any point this season, but he surely will. He’s currently hitting .258/.329/.379 with four homers through 140 plate appearances.

It’s a standard off day for the catcher with a day game after a night game. Dalton Rushing will catch for the Dodgers and hit seventh. After a torrid start to the season, Rushing is just five for his last 24 with no home runs in the last two weeks.