The Dodgers shuffled their pitching staff Tuesday and made a notable roster move involving catcher Will Smith before their game against the Phillies.
Right-hander Landon Knack was optioned to Triple-A, while left-hander Charlie Barnes was brought back onto the active roster. To create space for Barnes on the 40-man roster, Smith was shifted to the 60-day injured list.
The move with Smith is procedural, but it also confirms the timeline the Dodgers are working with. He is not expected back until mid-August at the earliest, and the 60-day IL makes him ineligible to return before then.
Smith first sat out a game in early June because of neck stiffness, and at that point the Dodgers did not think the issue would keep him out for more than one game. Instead, the problem lingered, he eventually landed on the injured list, and more than a month later there still hasn’t been much progress. He was recently shut down from baseball activities.
“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,” manager Dave Roberts said this past Friday. “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 earliest Smith would be back is the middle of August. When asked if the team is counting on him returning or if they didn't know for sure, he said, “We don't know, but we’re certainly counting on it.”
Knack’s demotion comes after a rough stretch since he was reinstated from the injured list ahead of the All-Star break. He has made only two appearances since then, giving up five runs in five innings for a 9.00 ERA. He struck out four and walked two, and four of the hits he allowed left the yard.
In parts of three seasons with Los Angeles, Knack has posted a 4.33 ERA with 115 strikeouts across 116.1 innings. The Dodgers drafted him in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft.
Barnes, meanwhile, is back after re-signing with the club last week following a designation for assignment and his decision to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. The 30-year-old has appeared in three big league games for the Dodgers this season. His first two outings were scoreless one-inning appearances, and in his third he allowed seven runs over seven innings while helping the team get through a scheduled “bullpen game.”
“Charlie did a nice job for what was asked of him,” Roberts said after that game. “For him to be able to save everyone else puts us in a great position."
Barnes now returns as a multi-inning relief option after being claimed off waivers from the Chicago Cubs earlier this year.
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