The Dodgers kept busy right up to Major League Baseball’s 3 p.m. PT trade deadline, adding another catcher and a right-handed pitcher in a deal with the Rays.
Los Angeles landed Hunter Feduccia and Jacob Kmatz from Tampa Bay, while sending outfielder Jack Suwinski and international bonus pool money the other way.
Feduccia is a familiar name around the Dodgers. The 29-year-old catcher was originally drafted by Los Angeles in the 12th round of the 2018 MLB Draft and spent his entire career in the organization until last year’s deadline, when he was moved to Tampa Bay in a three-team trade involving the Cincinnati Reds.
He has already been back in a Dodgers uniform before, going 4-for-14 (.286) across seven games with the club in 2024 and ’25. In 96 games with the Rays over 2025 and ’26, he hit .203 with two home runs, 20 RBIs and an OPS of .580.
Kmatz, meanwhile, was drafted by the Rays in the fifth round of the 2024 MLB Draft. This season, he has worked in 33 games at Double-A and High-A and posted a 2.89 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 53 innings.
The move gives the Dodgers another catcher at a moment when the position is thin. The club also added Ben Rortvedt on Monday, and both catchers are already familiar with the organization. The need is obvious with Will Smith and Dalton Rushing both dealing with injuries.
Smith has been sidelined since early June with an inflamed disc in his neck. Manager Dave Roberts said this weekend that Smith has started baseball activities again, but he’s still not close to a return.
"I know Will is anxious to get back out there," 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 was scratched minutes before Sunday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox because of minor arm irritation, and he was not in the lineup Monday against the Chicago Cubs. A stint on the injured list could be next, which helps explain why Los Angeles moved quickly to add depth behind the plate.
Suwinski, 28, heads to Tampa Bay after spending the season at Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he hit .291 with 21 home runs, 72 RBIs and an OPS of .947 in 93 games. He has not appeared in the majors this season. The Dodgers claimed him off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates before the 2026 season.
His departure also clears a spot in the Triple-A outfield, with top prospect Josue De Paula potentially in line for a promotion.
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For Tampa Bay, the appeal was adding another outfield option even with several already in place, banking on the idea that Suwinskis Triple-A track record can still translate more consistently at the major league level. For the Dodgers, it was a chance to turn a quiet depth piece into help at a position where coverage matters, and the real question now is how much value they can squeeze out of the return before the next roster squeeze arrives. [Read more 🡒]