Dodgers' Will Smith to Miss Several More Weeks in Brutal Update

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been without starting catcher Will Smith for nearly a month now.

Smith was scratched from the Dodgers lineup on June 6 due to neck inflammation. At first, the injury didn't seem too bad, with the expectation that Smith would only need to miss one game.

However, there has since been a series of unfortunate updates regarding the veteran catcher, who was ultimately placed on the injured list and has no timeline to return.

While the team had been hoping for a quick recovery, manager Dave Roberts provided the latest update on Smith, saying he won't be back until after the All-Star break.

"I just can't see any world where we would have him active before the All-Star break," Roberts said.

If Smith returns right after the All-Star break, which ends on July 17, he will have missed six weeks due to his neck injury.

Still, Roberts doesn't see this turning into a season-long issue for the veteran.

“It’s certainly longer, I know, than all of us expected. But I don’t think it’s anything real, kind of affecting-the-season type thing,” Roberts said.

The big issue with Smith has been his lack of movement during the recovery process. The veteran hasn't been able to take the next step in terms of ramping back up, leading to his return being pushed back.

“I think there’s some restriction as far as kind of the lateral [movement], when he does kind of try to ramp it up," Roberts said. "It’s still some soreness, maybe a little bit of pain. So we just haven’t been able to get to the next step to push the baseball activity."

Before the injury, Smith was having a down year at the plate, recording a slash line of .249/.338/.382 with six home runs and 23 runs batted in.

Dodgers' Catching Plan Moving Forward

With Smith out for the foreseeable future, the Dodgers will continue to have Dalton Rushing as the starter behind the plate. Rushing has been given a larger role this season with the injury to Smith, and he's proven himself to be a productive player.

Rushing has made some unfortunate headlines this year, having multiple incidents with opposing teams. The catcher has also evoked visible frustration from teammate Shohei Ohtani, leading to all sorts of storylines to emerge.

While Rushing has had his share of on-field incidents, his bat has been solid for Los Angeles. Overall, he's hit .244 with nine home runs and 25 runs batted in, while posting an OPS of .792.

Los Angeles is fairly thin at the catcher position, with the team potentially being rumored to add more depth at the trade deadline. Chuckie Robinson has taken over behind Rushing, but his lack of an offensive game isn't ideal for LA..

In eight games this season, Robinson has hit .087 with two hits and one run batted in. The sooner that the team can get Smith back, the better, but they won't risk pushing him to return before he is fully ready.

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