Will Smith made his 2025 Spring Training debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers this past Friday in their first Cactus League night game of the year.
Smith went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts against the Los Angeles Angels as he continues to deal with a left ankle injury that has plagued him since the middle of last season.
The 29-year-old rolled his ankle while sliding into second base in a matchup with the New York Yankees last June. Smith didn’t miss time because of the injury but it clearly hampered his production during the second half of the season.
Smith’s ankle has improved but he is still experiencing some discomfort. He and the Dodgers are trying to determine why the bone bruise hasn’t completely healed yet, via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic:
“We’re looking more into why maybe it’s not going away,” Smith said Saturday, a day after he finally was able to get into Cactus League action for the first time this spring. “Sometimes it just takes a while.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts clarified that Smith is dealing with a deep bone bruise on his left ankle:
“It’s a bone bruise that’s deep, clearly, and (nine) months hasn’t helped the pain go away,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So it’s just one of those things that it is what it is and he’s just going to have to deal with it.”
Smith is coming off a season that saw him hit just .248/.327/.433 with 24 doubles, 20 home runs and 75 RBI in 128 games. He posted career-lows in on-base plus slugging (.760), wOBA (.326) and wRC+ (111).
The decline in offensive production came just months after Smith signed a 10-year, $140 million contract extension.
The two-time All-Star has been able to regularly catch bullpen sessions and take live batting practice this spring. However, the Dodgers have been cautious with Smith running as that is the only time he feels pain in the left ankle.
The Dodgers and Smith maintain that he will be in the lineup Opening Day. In the event that Smith needs to miss some time, the team has Austin Barnes and Hunter Feduccia on their 40-man roster, and top catching prospect Dalton Rushing waiting in the wings.
Will Smith’s ankle injury expected to linger
Although Smith is now participating in Cactus League games with the start of the regular season just over two weeks away, indications are that he will have to continue playing through the ankle injury.
“I just don’t think it’s something that’s going to go away anytime soon,” Roberts conceded. “So it is what it is. We’re hoping as time goes on at some point, but it’s not impeding at all.”
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