Will Smith is headed back toward game action, and the Dodgers are lining up a few other moving pieces around him as they try to get healthier at the right time.
Manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and other reporters that Smith will start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday. It will be the catcher’s first game since June 5, after an inflamed disc in his neck sent him to the injured list for most of the last three months.
The Dodgers originally described the issue as “neck inflammation,” but the picture became clearer as Smith remained sidelined and was moved from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL about a month ago. His recovery has taken longer than expected, but he recently reached the point of taking live batting practice, the final hurdle before being cleared for a rehab stint.
That assignment should last at least a week, since getting back into the daily demands of catching figures to take some extra time. Shohei Ohtani’s workload matters here, too.
Because Ohtani is in the lineup as a DH, Los Angeles doesn’t have the luxury of easing Smith back with designated hitter days once he returns. The Dodgers can, however, give Smith full rest days if needed, with the larger goal being to have him ready for the playoffs.
Before the injury, Smith’s season had been muted by his standards. He had six home runs and a .249/.338/.382 line in 201 plate appearances. Even that version of Smith would help stabilize the catching spot, and there’s reason to expect better production in September and October.
The Dodgers have needed that help. Dalton Rushing hit well while filling in, but he went down in early August with a partial UCL tear. Since then, Los Angeles has pieced together the position with trade deadline additions Ben Rortvedt and Hunter Feduccia, while Eliezer Alfonzo and Chuckie Robinson also saw time behind the plate before the deadline.
Smith’s live batting practice session yesterday included pitches from Ohtani, who also appears to be closing in on a return to the mound. Roberts said Ohtani could pitch for the Dodgers before the week is over, and Ardaya and Katie Woo reported that the team is considering using him for one inning as an opener against the Tigers on August 30.
A more concrete plan may come after Ohtani’s next bullpen session, which is scheduled for some point during the Dodgers’ upcoming series in Atlanta that begins on Tuesday.
Tyler Glasnow is also expected to come off the 60-day IL during that series, which would give the Dodgers a rotation of Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, and Roki Sasaki. If Ohtani returns in some form, the club could get back to its preferred six-man setup, though the health uncertainty across the group leaves Eric Lauer as an important innings option.
Lauer has been starting, but he is set to move to the bullpen in what looks more like a piggyback role than a standard relief job. Depending on how the next week and September unfold, he could follow Glasnow, Ohtani, or even both.
Roberts also updated Andy Pages’ status, saying he believed the outfielder underwent a minor surgery to deal with his fractured left hand. Ardaya reported that Pages had “a compression screw inserted into his left hand to try to speed up the healing process.” Pages was initially expected to miss about four to five weeks, and the Dodgers would surely like him back on the earlier end of that timeline so he can be fully healed before the postseason.
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