The Los Angeles Dodgers are in a tough spot with their catcher group amid recent injuries to Will Smith and Dalton Rushing, but their overall health situation could have been a lot worse if Tyler Glasnow did not emerge healthy from a scare.

The timing of these injuries hasn’t been ideal for a Dodgers team in the middle of a tight National League West race, and it has been compounded by poor play overall.

The Dodgers are relatively healthy at this point in the season, with Tommy Edman and Alex Vesia set to join the roster this week. But the injury to Smith could potentially have significant implications depending on how he is able to manage a bone bruise in his right hand.

Dodgers updates

Tyler Glasnow

Glasnow being scratched from his scheduled start against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday due to back tightness raised some concern, but it was determined to not be a serious issue. The right-hander returned to the mound Monday and dominated in the Dodgers nearly putting together a combined no-hitter.

The right-hander also dealt with back trouble last season, which caused him to miss nearly three weeks. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts doesn’t believe that will repeat this year.

“I think it’s something of the past, in the past. I’m happy he alerted us. He says he feels great, and so I’m going to go off that and we’ll reassess,” Roberts said.

“But we’ll keep an eye on him, but I’m hopeful that it’s a regular outing for Tyler, and good to have him back in the rotation.”

The Dodgers erred on the side of caution because of Glasnow’s injury history, but they have reason to believe he is in the clear after being examined by doctors.

“There was nothing of significance. So that was a good thing,” Roberts said. “I think we just wanted to be safe, and I’m sure Tyler wanted to be safe. And so fortunately, we’re in the clear.”

Dalton Rushing

On Saturday, the Dodgers placed Rushing on the 10-day injured list with a right shin contusion. He is showing improvement in terms of his mobility and the Dodgers expect to have him back once he is eligible to be activated from the IL.

Will Smith

Meanwhile, Smith was an option off the bench for the Dodgers on Monday and Roberts hopes to get the 30-year-old back in the lineup on Tuesday.

Roberts added that Smith could very well have started on Monday against the Rockies, but the team chose to maximize another day of rest while still getting him in the lineup for two games in the series.

The Dodgers are hoping that the worst of Smith’s issues with his right hand will be behind them by the end of the series.

“I don’t know quite yet,” Roberts said. “I think that one thing we are doing is that he could have potentially played tonight, started, but to give him an extra day, looking at this series and saying he’s going to play two of three.

“So if it’s going to be two of three, then let’s give an extra day, and then we have an off day on Thursday. So hopefully being able to go back-to-back, I don’t think that’ll be a problem, and then with the off day Thursday, we should be able to kind of put this behind us is kind of the thought.”

Brusdar Graterol

Since having a career-year in 2023, Brusdar Graterol missed nearly all of the 2024 season due to right shoulder trouble. He returned at the end of last season to play a role in the Dodgers’ World Series victory against the New York Yankees.

He was placed on the 60-day IL to begin 2025 after undergoing right shoulder surgery in the offseason. Back in August, the last update from Roberts revealed that the right-hander was still not throwing.

Roberts had no new updates on Graterol’s progress and it appears likely that he won’t be back for the regular season at the very least. However, the Dodgers are open to having Graterol available for the postseason if he is healthy.

“I think that’s fair,” Roberts said of Graterol not pitching during the regular season. “And I think with Brusdar, the last couple years, he’s missed significant time, but then when he’s ready, he has the ability to not let the postseason phase him.

“So I do think that working with the mindset of not having them is kind of where we’re at. And if we can get them, and he’s right, that’ll be great. So I wouldn’t be surprised, though, with that guy.”

Graterol is currently still at Camelback Ranch.

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