Will Smith is in the midst of another solid season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he has struggled at the plate as of late.
The 29-year-old is batting .182/.254/.345 with over his last 15 games, and those numbers only slightly improve to .216/.288/.468 over his last 30 games.
Due to that slump, Smith has been out of the Dodgers’ lineup quite frequently as of late, which included another off day on Sunday, the day before a day off for the club.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes Smith’s recent offensive woes are related to his mechanics and wants to give him an opportunity to work on his swing, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“I just don’t think he’s swinging the bat, certainly like he’s capable of. I think he’s in a little funk,” Roberts said. “There’s some balls that are hit hard. But there’s also some pitches that I feel that when he’s right, he makes a better move.
“He feels good. So it’s not a physical thing. Certainly with Will, it’s not a mental thing. He’s as mentally tough as they come. So that leads to the mechanical part. So my thought was you could take today and work through some things mechanically. We have a night game, so there’s more time to do that. We have an off day. … It’s a long season. I don’t expect him to be great or perfect all year.”
In an effort to get back on track, Smith has been spending extra time with Dodgers hitting coaches to make the necessary adjustments to his swing.
Even with his recent slump, Smith is still in the midst of another All-Star caliber season. Overall, he’s batting .269 with an .805 on-base plus slugging percentage with 11 home runs and 50 RBI across 264 games.
Without Mookie Betts and Max Muncy in the lineup due to injuries, the Dodgers would like Smith to get back on track sooner rather than later. But as long as he’s ready for October, that’s really all that matters for this club.
Dodgers looking for ‘balance’ with Will Smith rest days
After Smith was held out of the opener of the Freeway Series, Roberts explained that he is trying to be mindful with giving his players enough rest over the course of the season.
“I think that I’m trying to win every game, but also, you have to appreciate these players are human beings, and they get taxed, and you don’t want to redline guys,” Roberts said at the time.
“You want to keep them strong throughout the season. So coming off four games in Denver, used him in a pinch-hit spot in game three and the day game, I just felt that we can get Austin out there tonight.
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