With Will Smith out indefinitely, Dodgers need to

NEW YORK — Lost amid the headlines about Tarik Skubal, the Dodgers face this sudden actuality as the commerce deadline looms: They would really like to add a beginning pitcher, but they need to add a catcher.

Will Smith has not performed in six weeks. In a “best case” state of affairs, Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts said Friday, Smith would miss another month.

That left Roberts to make a jolting admission, when I requested him if the workforce actually can depend on Smith returning this season.

“We don’t know,” Roberts said, “but we certainly are counting on it.”

Would or not it’s good for the Dodgers to get their three-time All-Star catcher back in time for October? Of course.

Should the Dodgers depend on it? Of course not.

The Dodgers gained’t know where Smith stands by the Aug. 3 commerce deadline. That means now is the time to purchase a catching option they might or could not need later.

Dalton Rushing, the first catcher in Smith’s absence, has a .799 OPS. Among the 24 major league catchers with at least 200 plate appearances coming into play Friday, Rushing ranked fifth in OPS.

He is hitless in his last 13 at-bats. His batting average: .266 before Smith’s injury, .233 since then.

On protection, Rushing ranks next-to-last in defensive runs saved among major league catchers, forward of only the Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe. On Friday, in the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees scored their only run on Rushing’s handed ball.

In past Octobers, the Dodgers have prioritized protection at catcher. In the 2020 World Series, Austin Barnes caught forward of Smith in 4 of the six video games, including the ultimate two.

In 2025, with Smith recovering from a hand injury, Ben Rortvedt began forward of Rushing in the Dodgers’ first 4 postseason video games. Rortvedt was a commerce deadline acquisition last summer time, picked up with pitcher Paul Gervase from the Tampa Bay Rays for catcher Hunter Feduccia.

Rortvedt, at present taking part in in triple-A for the New York Mets, matches the profile of what the Dodgers need now: a defense-first catcher with major league readiness. With Smith injured, the Dodgers first tried and then cut minor league journeyman Chuckie Robinson at backup catcher. Their current backup, Eliezer Alfonso, made his major league debut in his ninth skilled season; he’s hitless in 9 at-bats.

Could the Dodgers pursue an established catcher, say Ryan Jeffers of the Minnesota Twins or Francisco Alvarez or Luis Torrens of the New York Mets? Possible, but in all probability not vital.

Rushing may very well be their man. Smith may very well be back.

Smith has began and re-started baseball actions, only to discover out that the infected disk in his neck flares up.

“He hasn’t been able to get over the hump,” Roberts said.

The Dodgers are attempting another spherical of full relaxation before asking him to attempt hitting or throwing again.

“We felt that, if he’s inactive, it 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.”

Trying to commerce for Skubal may not be possible, at least so long as his Detroit Tigers stay in the American League wild-card race. The Tigers gained seven of their closing 10 video games in the first half, and they face groups with dropping information in 13 of their 16 second-half video games forward of the commerce deadline, beginning with the Angels this weekend in Anaheim.

The Dodgers don’t need a depth starter. However, they may do properly to discover somebody they might really feel comfy beginning the third or fourth sport of a playoff collection, lest they depend on Blake Snell (elbow) and Tyler Glasnow (back) and Shohei Ohtani (knee) all returning to the mound healthy and efficient.

Important, yes. As important as another catcher, no.

For a workforce that will spend virtually half a billion {dollars} on its participant payroll and luxurious tax this season, its most important commerce deadline pickup may very well be a catcher making perhaps $1 million.