The Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of Ben Rortvedt and optioned Alex Freeland to Triple-A Oklahoma City. To make room on the 40-man roster, Alexis Díaz was designated for assignment.
Rortvedt joins the Dodgers for the first time since being acquired by the club as part of a three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and Cincinnati Reds on July 31. The Dodgers added Rortvedt to replace Hunter Feduccia as the third catcher on their organizational depth chart.
He now gets a chance with the MLB club as Will Smith deals with a right-hand injury after being hit by a foul ball. X-Rays were negative on Smith’s hand, but he’s undergoing additional testing in L.A. and is unlikely to play this weekend.
Rortvedt has played at the Major League level over parts of the 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025 seasons.
He had just six hits in 63 at-bats over 26 games with the Rays this year. Rortvedt appeared in a career-high 112 games with Tampa Bay last season, batting .228./.317/.303 with 13 doubles and 31 RBI.
The 27-year-old has also seen time with the Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees, hitting .186/.276/.265 across 209 games. He does, however, bring solid defensive ability behind the plate.
Alex Freeland optioned for Ben Rortvedt
Freeland played 29 games for the Dodgers, batting .190/.292/.310 with two homers and six RBI. The switch-hitting infielder struck out at a 36.1% clip, which prevented him from making much of an impact.
He spent time at second base and third base while the Dodgers were dealing with injuries, but the recent returns of Hyeseong Kim and Kiké Hernández, plus the future returns of Max Muncy and Tommy Edman pushed him out of an everyday role.
Prior to joining the big club, Freeland appeared in 94 games for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets, slashing .253/.377/.421 with 12 homers and 71 RBI.
Freeland is ranked as the Dodgers’ No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline, and No. 42 overall in the league.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
