Dodgers All-Star Suffers Injury, Exits Wednesday’s Game in Concerning Development

Oct 29, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (16) celebrates with designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) after hitting a home run during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees in game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith has been removed from Wednesday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates with an apparent hand injury.

During the bottom of the second inning, a foul ball went off his hand while catching for starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan. When it was his turn to bat at the top of the third inning, he was replaced by rookie Dalton Rushing.

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— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 3, 2025

Smith was 0-for-1 with a ground out to end the first inning. His replacement, Rushing, hit a bloop single in his first at-bat replacing Smith.

Smith is having a phenomenal season on offense batting .297 with a National League leading .406 OPS, a .499 slugging percentage, and a .905 OPS. Smith earned his third All-Star nod in a row, and is currently on pace to finish the year with his highest single-season bWAR (currently at 4.5).

The backstop is also coming off of an exciting pinch-hit, walk-off home run on Sunday to take the series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks. His enormous swing not only saved the Dodgers from being swept against the divisional foes, but helped hold onto a slim lead in the NL West.

It was Smith's fourth career pinch hit, walk-off home run, the second most in MLB history.

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Manager Dave Roberts spoke on his catcher after the walk-off dinger.

“I think he’s got a calm heartbeat," Roberts said. "He’s not afraid to fail. He loves being in that moment. And he’s always a good choice. And has obviously come up with a lot of big hits. That was a big one.”

The Dodgers' official announcement on Smith is that a right hand contusion is what he is currently dealing with, but more information will likely become available after Wednesday's contest against the Pirates.

Will Smith left the game with a right hand contusion.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 3, 2025

The nature of the ball making direct contact with Smith is certainly concerning, but the hope is that Smith isn't held out of action for too long.

From a production standpoint, Smith has been irreplaceable, posting a slash line of .364/.500/.636 with an OPS of 1.136 across the last seven days. This was promising to Dodgers faithful since Smith had been hitting just .239 since the All-Star break.

Perhaps Smith will be able to get back to his production soon enough and continue his recent success at the plate. First, though, he'll need to make sure he gets through this injury scare unscathed.

For more Dodgers news, head over to Los Angeles Dodgers on SI.