The Dodgers aren’t about to pull the plug on Will Smith, even if the bat has gone cold at the worst possible time. What they may do, though, is start shuffling the order around him.
Smith has opened this stretch 1-for-19 with eight strikeouts, a sharp drop from the steady production Los Angeles usually gets from one of its most dependable hitters. That includes a postseason profile that has long made him a trusted presence: he hit .276/.364/.414 last postseason and delivered the go-ahead home run that won the World Series last year, the Dodgers’ second straight title.
That’s why this slump feels so jarring. Smith has built his reputation on showing up when the game tightens, piling up clutch at-bats and timely hits. Instead, after Game 1 of the NLCS, his 0-for-3 line stood out even more with the Dodgers managing just one run, especially with Smith batting so high in the lineup.
Dave Roberts made it clear after the game that the answer is not to sit Smith for backup catcher Hunter Feduccia.
“He’s not swinging the bat well. We’ll see, I just, it’s hard because the body of work, and he just has that knack to get a hit to get a big hit,” Roberts said after Game 1.
“You also have to kind of think about who you want in place, and do I want to flip him in Teo? Right now I still like him at the top of the order.”
So the likelier move is a lineup tweak, not a roster shakeup. Smith could be dropped lower, perhaps around fifth for Game 2, as the Dodgers try to find a better fit while he works through the slump.
The cold spell has come out of nowhere. Smith hit .290/.400/.548 in September with a 160 wRC+, a stretch that made this current skid even more surprising. He’s going to keep getting chances this postseason, but if the struggles continue, Los Angeles may have no choice but to move him down and let the pressure ease off a bit.
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