The Los Angeles Dodgers have been without Will Smith for roughly six weeks now as he continues to deal with a neck injury.
Smith received a cortisone injection to treat the inflammation in late June, and by early July, he began throwing and hitting again.
Despite starting some of the rehab steps, the Dodgers were just keeping Smith active rather than really ramping him up.
But now, Smith has been shut down again from baseball activities due to continued neck pain when he’s active and moving, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
While he is no longer experiencing pain in his neck, Roberts said “there was pain when he was doing baseball activities.”
“So then we felt that if he’s inactive, it gives him a good chance to get all the inflammation out, the soreness out, the pain, increase flexibility – all of it. To then give him a fighting chance to work his way back,” Roberts said. “I think that trying to do everything, even at a lesser dosage, just wasn’t feasible.”
Smith began dealing with the neck issue while the Dodgers were in Arizona at the beginning of June. He tried to play through it for multiple games, but he felt it was getting worse, prompting the Dodgers to scratch him from the lineup.
Smith was scratched from his scheduled start on June 6, and at the time, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the injury wasn’t serious and expected him to be in the lineup for their next game.
By June 10, Smith remained out of the lineup, and the following day, he was placed on the injured list. The Dodgers expected him to be on the IL for the minimum or a short time, but he has been unable to make much progress.
The 31-year-old is batting .249/.338/.382 with five doubles, six home runs and 23 RBI over 52 games so far this season.
Dodgers unsure Will Smith returns
The Dodgers are counting on Smith to return this season, but they can’t be sure at this point, as Roberts said.
The earliest possible timeline for Smith’s return is mid-August, and any more setbacks could delay that to September or later.
That return timeline also requires him to start making progress soon, which is no guarantee. If Smith is still dealing with pain after taking some time off, his return timeline will be tight.
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