The Dodgers are bringing back a familiar face behind the plate, landing catcher Ben Rortvedt from the Mets just before Monday’s trade deadline.
Los Angeles sent right-handed pitcher Chayce McDermott, who had been designated for assignment last week, to New York in the deal.
Rortvedt, 28, is now with the Dodgers for the second straight deadline run. He was part of last year’s three-team swap with the Rays and Reds that sent catcher Hunter Feduccia away, and what looked like a depth move at the time ended up mattering far more than anyone expected.
When injuries hit the Dodgers’ catching group, Rortvedt stepped into a much bigger role. Will Smith went down, Dalton Rushing got thrust into action, and Rortvedt wound up starting down the stretch and even into the early part of the postseason.
In 18 regular-season games with Los Angeles last year, he hit .224 with one home run, four RBIs and a .636 OPS. He was even better in a tiny postseason sample, going 3-for-7 (.429) across four games.
The bat was useful enough. What really sold the Dodgers was everything else.
Rortvedt gave the pitching staff a steady presence and helped the club navigate the final stretch of the season. That work earned praise from manager Dave Roberts, who called him “Ben has been an unsung hero,” last year.
“Just coming in here trying to replace an All-Star catcher. He has the trust in the pitchers.
He's a servant first. He receives well.
He throws well. He just understands who he is as a hitter.
So to be able to kind of move runners, see pitches, put the ball in play, get hits when we need him.
"He's been fantastic. And he had big shoes to fill, but he's done a great job with the fingers, the catching, all of it.”
This time, the move comes with the Dodgers again short-handed at catcher.
Smith has been sidelined since early June with an inflamed disc in his neck. He has started baseball activities again, but Roberts said he is still at least three to four weeks from returning.
“I know Will is anxious to get back out there,” manager Dave Roberts said this weekend. “But there still has to be a progression and games played. I just don’t see it before three or four weeks.”
Rushing also remains in the mix, though he was scratched from Sunday’s game shortly before first pitch because of what the team described as “minor arm irritation.” Roberts said he was “day-to-day.”
“Dalton had some arm irritation when he was playing catch before the game, which is very uncommon," Roberts said after the game. “I didn’t want to take a chance and kind of push him anymore, so that’s why I decided to scratch him.
“He got treated today, and my expectation is he’s going to be with us on the plane, and then kind of day to day.”
For now, Eliezer Alfonzo Jr. is serving as the backup to Rushing. Whether Rortvedt immediately takes that spot on the roster is still to be determined.
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