Los Angeles All-Star Catcher Will Smith is at risk of not becoming healthy at the start of the postseason.
A broken hairline in his hand led manager Dave Roberts to cite him as “suspecting” to revive the regular season as an October loom. Foulball slammed Smith into his hand on September 3rd and left the game, but the first X-ray returned to the negative. Smith even returned six days later, but soon came on the injured list.
Now he rarely returns this regular season, but his postseason status is “in the air.”
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Backstop Ben Rothvett, who won on a trade deadline deal with the Tampa Bay Rays of Triple A catcher Hunter Fedeccia, will receive the “Lion’s share” of Start while Smith recovers, according to Roberts. Rookie catcher Dalton Rushing is also available behind the dishes.
Rortvedt appears to be standing up for the challenge, proving himself as a trusted catcher for the defending champion while he is in a temporary rush with Smith.
With 13 appearances with the , all of that happened this month, he’s hitting .294/.368/.353 with an OPS of .721. Rortvedt has also proven defensively powerful, demonstrating the average framing and ability to call games in the presence of Smith.
Smith has been an incredible year, hitting .323 with .966 OPS before the All-Star break. Things fell a bit in the second half, as Smith was hitting just .210 in his final 20 games and kept his OPS at .726.
Another option in the catching department is to hurry. He was quickly pursued by this past big league due to his offensive prowess, but reached just .184 in his first 47 appearances with the .
Rush had a horrifying moment two days after Smith fell, fouling the ball from his shins and demanding an appointment to the injured list later, but has since returned to the lineup.
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Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn
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