Dodgers GM Has Interesting Response to Potential James Tibbs Call-Up

The 23-year-old outfielder has a .952 OPS at Triple-A.

Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder James Tibbs III (98) and Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Jett Williams (76) talk before a game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale on March 16, 2026. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Oklahoma City Comets, the Los Angeles Dodgers' top farm team, play in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. How badly does the average PCL pitcher get punished on a nightly basis?

The league-average ERA is 5.42, a couple ticks better than the Colorado Rockies' 5.46 team ERA while playing their home games at high-altitude Coors Field. Factor in errors, and the average PCL team gives up 5.95 runs per game, worse than any major league team.

Against this backdrop, the Dodgers have a 23-year-old corner outfielder slashing .292/.414/.538 at Oklahoma City. James Tibbs III might be a more capable hitter right now than Kyle Tucker (.221/.321/.350 in 137 games). But the surface stats of the two players, taken at face value, aren't enough to make that assertion a cinch.

“It’s just hard to predict what minor-league performance [will translate to up here],” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes told the California Post on Monday.

When catcher Dalton Rushing was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with right elbow discomfort — the right of a partially torn UCL — catcher Eliezer Alfonzo Jr. got the call-up from the Comets.

For those expecting Tibbs, the explanation from Gomes was simple.

The Dodgers' primary catcher, Will Smith, missed the better part of three months with a neck injury. Gomes and manager Dave Roberts are monitoring his workload as he ramps up for what the team hopes will be another deep postseason run. In last year's World Series, Smith caught every inning of all seven games against the Toronto Blue Jays.

If the Dodgers want Smith to be available off the bench as a pinch-hitter on the days he doesn't catch, it helps to have a third catcher around.

Enter Alfonzo, who was slashing .302/.378/.409 with two home runs, 25 RBIs and an OPS of .787 at Oklahoma City. Those numbers haven't exactly translated to big-league production at the plate. He's slashing .185/.185/.259 in 12 games with the Dodgers.

Therein lies a lesson for anyone who can't wait for Tibbs' debut. The Dodgers — Gomes and Roberts, at least — would rather have both Smith and Hunter Feduccia's bats available than Tibbs on any given day. Carrying a third catcher enables that.

“It’s just more of having the ability to use [Feduccia] when he’s not starting to be a left-handed bat,” Roberts said, “and to be able to use Will off the bench as a bat while he’s building up, [without forcing us afterward] to catch him, on days that he doesn’t start.”

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