Dodgers catcher Will Smith hasn’t played since June 5 due to an inflamed disc in his neck, and continued soreness in his neck while taking swings last week led to the team shutting Smith down for a week, manager Dave Roberts told the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Shaikin and other reporters. Missing another month would represent a “best case” scenario, Roberts said, and the skipper couldn’t entirely commit to Smith’s return before the 2026 season is over: “We don’t know, but we are certainly counting on it.”
What seemed like a mild bout of neck inflammation has now become an increasingly major concern for both the catcher and the team, given Smith’s lack of progress. This brief total shutdown period “gives it a good chance to get all the inflammation out, the soreness out, the pain, increase flexibility, all of it,” Roberts said. “Then he has a fighting chance to work his way back. Trying to do everything, even at a lesser dosage, just wasn’t feasible.”
Between a three-time All-Star in Smith and a top prospect in Dalton Rushing, Los Angeles seemed about as set as any team behind the plate. Even with Smith out, Rushing has hit .250/.332/.467 over 208 plate appearances, and the Dodgers haven’t missed a beat in sailing to the best record in baseball.
Counting on Rushing to fill in is one thing, however, but relying on him as a starter for perhaps the rest of the season may not be in the Dodgers’ interest. Rushing hasn’t been particularly good defensively, as Shaikin noted, and his game management (or lack thereof) led to some rather public conflict with Shohei Ohtani during an Ohtani start last month. There’s also the natural question of whether or not Rushing’s bat will stay productive over an extended period of time, once rival teams get more of a book on him.
With two more weeks before the trade deadline, the Dodgers will get some more time to evaluate Smith and see if there’s any clearer path to a proper ramp-up in baseball activities without any more setbacks. At least having more assurance that Smith will return before season’s end can give the Dodgers some comfort if how they’ll address the catching situation, but it does seem like L.A. will now have to spend some time at the trade deadline on a position that didn’t at all seem like an area of need.
Shaikin suggests that a reunion with former Dodger Ben Rortvedt might be feasible, in order to bring a familiar face and some stability back to the catcher’s spot. Rortvedt has spent all of 2026 with the Mets’ Triple-A team, so acquiring him as a depth piece and Rushing’s backup makes sense while Smith recovers. Trading for more of a clear-cut starter probably isn’t in the cards since Smith might still be back, plus a backup type like Rortvedt costs much less in trade capital.
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