With Will Smith still sidelined, Dalton Rushing has been forced into the Dodgers’ spotlight behind the plate, and the results have been a strange mix of promise and turbulence. Offensively, he’s held up his end of the bargain, putting together a 124 wRC+ and a .821 OPS with 1.1 fWAR, which leaves him tied for 15th among MLB catchers heading into the All-Star Break.
The bigger issue has been everything around him. Rushing has found himself at the center of plenty of noise, involving both teammates and opponents, and that has only added to the sense that the Dodgers are navigating this stretch without the steady presence Smith has long provided.
Even with Smith’s recovery still not showing much progress, the Dodgers do not appear eager to chase a major-league catcher at the trade deadline. Instead, the plan seems to lean toward adding catching help in the minors rather than bringing in someone to share the big-league workload with Rushing.
According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, that’s the direction the organization is leaning. "In the brief conversations I’ve had throughout the organization, it doesn’t sound like improving catching depth at the major-league level is the thought process," Woo wrote. "The Dodgers are satisfied with the production they’re seeing out of Rushing and continue to work with him on the emotional side of the game."
That’s a pretty clear vote of confidence, especially considering the Dodgers have been searching for a dependable No. 2 option while Smith is out. But Rushing has at least produced enough to justify the trust. Since Smith went down with a neck injury, the 25-year-old has reached base at a 33.3% clip and posted a 113 wRC+, strong numbers for a catcher even if the defensive side of the ledger has been less encouraging.
The phrase that stands out most is the one about the "emotional side of the game." That’s the part the Dodgers are still trying to shape, and it’s not exactly the kind of issue that gets solved cleanly in the middle of a season. Rushing’s immaturity hasn’t cost them in a major way yet, but it could matter a lot more once October arrives.
One reading of all this is that the Dodgers are more optimistic about Smith’s return than they’ve said publicly. Another is simpler: they’re giving Rushing a long runway because finding a new catcher and plugging him into a run-prevention system during a postseason chase is no easy task.
Either way, the message is the same. The Dodgers seem prepared to hand Rushing the job for as long as Smith remains out, and the way he handles that responsibility may end up shaping how far this team goes.
In Other News...
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Dodgers Finally Have A Real Blake Snell Return Timeline
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The expectation is for Snell to make four to five rehab outings as he works toward a workload of about 90 pitches before rejoining the major league roster. For a Dodgers staff that has been waiting on more certainty, the assignment matters because it turns his return from a vague hope into a real process, even if the final date still has some room to breathe. [Read more 🡒]