Dodgers Manager Has Concerning Update on Will Smith's Injury

The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to move forward without star catcher Will Smith in the lineup due to a nagging injury.

Smith last played on June 5 with a neck injury. The team placed the veteran on the injured list, with the hope that he wouldn't be out for too long.

But Smith has been out since, and there doesn't seem to be any timeline for his return right now. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed a new update on the All-Star, saying that Smith is feeling better, but that he is still "day-to-day".

Roberts said it's possible he returns before the All-Star break, but the longer he's out, the longer it will take to ramp back up.

Smith still has not started doing any baseball activities, meaning that his return will take some time to occur.

“I think it’s concerning in the sense that it’s a lot longer than we’d expected,” Roberts said. “It’s not concerning because we don’t think it’s a long-term situation.”

Before going down with the injury, Smith was struggling to find his rhythm at the plate, hitting .249 with six home runs and 23 runs batted in while posting an OPS of .720.

Dodgers' Plan Without Smith

With Smith remaining out, that means Dalton Rushing will continue to act as the starter for the Dodgers. Los Angeles has been happy with Rushing's offense this season, with the catcher hitting .239 with eight home runs and 22 runs batted in and an OPS of .783.

While Rushing has been a nice surprise for Los Angeles at the plate this year, he has also been subject to making some unfortunate headlines. The young catcher has struggled to keep his emotions in check during games, even getting into it with teammate Shohei Ohtani recently.

Rushing has taken accountability for his actions, calling the incident with Ohtani "embarrassing". But he has also been involved in a number of incidents with opposing teams as well.

The Dodgers have talked to Rushing multiple times, but he still doesn't have a handle on his emotions during games. This has now become a major talking point around the organization, and for the sake of his big league career, Los Angeles is hopeful that he can cool things down.

Behind Rushing, the Dodgers have veteran Chuckie Robinson, but his lack of offense has limited his playing time. In the five games he's played this year, Robinson has hit .133 with two hits, one run batted in and four strikeouts.

It remains to be seen if the Dodgers look externally for another catcher, or stick with Rushing and Robinson for the next few weeks.

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