The Los Angeles Dodgers are going to finish the regular season without Will Smith available and when he might be ready for a return to the lineup in the playoffs is unclear.
Manager Dave Roberts revealed Smith has a hairline fracture in his right hand. The injury was discovered when the Dodgers had Smith undergo another MRI on Friday.
“Small hairline fracture in his right hand. Optimistic he’s going to come back at some point. Doubtful it’s the regular season, but having him available for the postseason, we’re still hopeful,” Roberts said.
“I think it’s good Will and we have clarity, because it was kind of, ‘I don’t understand why it’s not feeling good.’ So another scan came in and revealed it.”
Smith has been dealing with right hand trouble since being hit by a foul ball in the second inning on Sept. 2. He initially remained in the game but was pinch-hit for in the third inning.
The Dodgers kept Smith on their active roster despite not playing again until Sept. 9. There was an expectation he would be back the day prior but the Dodgers elected to delay that with the hope Smith would ultimately start two of the three games in their series against the Colorado Rockies.
He was on target to do so but got scratched shortly before first pitch on Sept. 10 because of swelling in his right hand.
“This is literally 15 minutes before the game as he’s getting ready, his hand started to swell up and compromise a little bit as he was getting loose,” Roberts explained after the game that night. “So we decided to have him down today, potentially available to hit if we needed to.”
The Dodgers then put Smith on the 10-day injured list the following day.
At that point, Roberts suggested the belief was Smith would return once he was eligible on Saturday. However, that was ruled out earlier this week as Smith hadn’t made enough progress in his recovery. That seemingly prompted the latest MRI, which wound up revealing the hairline fracture.
Ben Rortvedt is expected to be the primary catcher to finish out the regular season.
Will Smith possibly missing start of playoffs
The Dodgers clinched a 13th consecutive postseason berth and are all but officially guaranteed to play in the Wild Card Series.
Roberts deemed it “up in the air” on if Smith will be included on the Dodgers’ postseason roster. If he is, the Dodgers would still consider carrying three catchers.
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