Cubs Catcher Sends Warning to Dodgers' Dalton Rushing After Disrespectful Comment

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing used a derogatory phrase to describe Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya in the middle of a game on April 25.

In the weeks since, Rushing's choice of words came under scrutiny.

Cubs veteran Nico Hoerner was in the batter's box when Amaya advanced to second base on a wild pitch by Roki Sasaki. That's when Rushing, the catcher, called Amaya a "fat f--k."

Nico Hoerner after Dalton Rushing called Miguel Amaya a "fat fu*k," via @SpiegsAndHolmes :

"I wish that I had confronted him ... I was pretty taken aback."pic.twitter.com/qtUTssl9vQ
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) April 29, 2026

During an appearance on the “Spiegel & Holmes Show,” Hoerner said he regretted not saying something directly to Rushing in the moment.

“I wish that I had confronted him a little more directly, to be honest," Hoerner said. "I was pretty taken aback and in the middle of my at-bat. It was just kind of a strange thing to experience."

This week, Amaya got his chance to respond.

In an interview with The Athletic, the 27-year-old catcher said Rushing’s actions were “nothing that bothers me.”

“But if stuff like this keeps going and continues," Amaya added, "wherever we face each other again, and if he keeps saying stuff, we’ve got to put a stop to it."

As a standalone incident, the remark was not worthy of an exposé. For Rushing, however, the incident does not stand alone in what's been a remarkably newsworthy season for a backup catcher.

Earlier in April, Rushing tried to shut down reports that he used an expletive toward San Francisco Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee — on a play where Lee was injured and Rushing tagged him out at home plate.

Dalton Rushing after seeing Jung Hoo Lee possibly injured in a play at the plate (I’m pretty sure):

“F$&k em”

Giants Dodgers rivalry is alive and well. pic.twitter.com/h4aAjFTZyk
— Allen Stiles (@The_StilesFiles) April 22, 2026

As one of the youngest players on the Dodgers (only Sasaki, pitcher Edgardo Henriquez and infielder Alex Freeland are younger than the 25-year-old Rushing), it would hardly be a surprise if one of his veteran teammates called out Rushing publicly or privately.

So far, however, his teammates have his back.

“Seventy, eighty percent of the players out there are saying things, but they’re not getting caught on camera often,” infielder Miguel Rojas told The Athletic. “We don’t want to really make a big deal out of him, because that’s not the guy that we’re seeing every single day inside the locker room."

Are Rushing's teammates simply doing a better job of keeping their trash talk under wraps?

Possibly.

“He’s bringing stuff onto himself he doesn’t need to bring on,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently said of Rushing. “There’s a responsibility to not be reckless because everything is captured.”

Rushing, for what it's worth, admitted he needs to be better, and vowed to do just that.

“You never want to be viewed as a guy like that from opposing teams,” Rushing told the California Post. “You want guys to hate playing against you because of the player that you are and how great you are on a baseball field. Not because of the verbalized things you say."

“I’m gonna continue to compete, I’m gonna continue to play with an edge,” he added. “But obviously we can hone back a little bit on things that can get you in trouble in this media world.”

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