Dodgers' Will Smith Shut Down After Setback, Has No Timeline to Return

Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star catcher Will Smith has been shut down from baseball activities after suffering another setback in his recovery from a neck injury.

Smith suffered an inflamed disc in his neck in early June, and was initially expected to miss just one game. However, the issue persisted, and Smith was ultimately placed on the injured list for what was expected to be a short stint.

Fast forward six weeks and Smith remains out, and is now going the wrong way in his recovery.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters ahead of Friday's second half opener against the New York Yankees that Smith will be shut down for at least a week before trying to ramp up baseball activities again.

"To be honest with you, right now, he's taking at least a week off just really doing no activity to hopefully calm his neck down to then build up," Roberts said. "Early on, we've been trying to get him ready, moving around, doing some baseball stuff, but he hasn't been able to get over the hump.

"So I think we feel like, no activity, and then we'll kind of read and react after a week."

Roberts said the best-case scenario is for Smith to return in mid-August, but that appears to be a more optimistic timeline. He said the team hasn't done any additional testing because it hasn't been warranted, but admitted it's "concerning" that the cortisone shot didn't help.

"Yeah," Roberts said when asked if it's concerning. "But I talked to the trainer Thomas [Albert] today, and he said that Will doesn't feel any pain now. So I do think that now with that, we're in a much better spot now."

Roberts said the Dodgers "hope" Smith will be able to resume baseball activities by the end of next week, "but it's gonna be a slow ramp up. So honestly I don't know what that really looks like right now. It's hard to say."

As for the exact setback he suffered?

"It just wasn't recovering," Roberts said. "It was flaring up, wasn't recovering. However you want to word it, he didn't feel like he was making any improvement."

With Smith sidelined, second-year catcher Dalton Rushing will continue to take on a heavier workload. His current backup is Eliezer Alfonzo Jr. after the Dodgers moved on from Chuckie Robinson. It remains to be seen if the team seeks out another catcher ahead of the trade deadline.

Smith appeared in 52 games this year before the injury, hitting .249 with six home runs, 23 RBIs and an OPS of .720.

Rushing has appeared in 61 games, hitting .254 with 10 home runs, 30 RBIs and an OPS of .812.

Is Will Smith Going to Return This Season?

Roberts was asked if the Dodgers are counting on Smith returning this year or if they "just don't know."

“We don’t know," Roberts said, "but we’re certainly counting on it.”

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