Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Says Will Smith Will Eventually Get Some DH Days in the Lineup
Will Smith was out of the lineup for the second time in three days on Sunday, raising the eyebrows of Dodgers fans watching a team benching one of their best hitters. In the past, Dave Roberts likely would have given the catcher a "day off" as the DH, keeping him out of the squat behind the plate but still in the lineup.
The difference this season is the offseason signing of J.D. Martinez, someone Doc said would start most games as DH this season.
On Sunday, Roberts talked about the Will Smith/J.D. Martinez/DH conundrum, essentially loosening up on the idea of Martinez starting every single game at DH.
"It's one of those things where there's no bad options in that case, but I do think that getting Will some more at-bats when he's not catching makes a lot of sense."
Roberts added that the veteran Martinez could see some time here and there in left field, but given the team's glut of outfielders in need of at-bats, that might be tough.
An important note he alluded to, in so many words, was that Martinez signed with the Dodgers to be the DH. And he signed for less money than he could have got elsewhere. So that's another little factor at play.
Barring any unforeseen issues, Smith will be in the lineup at catcher all three games in the upcoming series in San Francisco. So, Dave gets to kick the can down the road a bit for now.
