NEW YORK – When Will Smith woke up with a stiff neck, an opportunity opened up for Dalton Rushing.
“I wasn’t used to the role last year,” he said of the difficulty he found in a backup role with limited playing time. “And by no means do I want to say I wished for this opportunity. But I was making sure if it was given, that I was going to do my best to show them that I could play, show them I’m going to be in this league and play down here for as long as I possibly can.”
Two months later, Smith is still on the Injured List with an inflamed disc with an uncertain timeline for his return. Asked about Smith’s status almost daily, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gives the same answer.
“He’s pain-free,” Roberts said, “He’s getting back into being more active. What that means, I don’t really know yet.”
Rushing has started 30 games at catcher since Smith last played. His offense has been sporadic at best – a .222 average and .727 OPS in that time – but he has handled the defensive and game-planning responsibilities of being the primary catcher well enough that the Dodgers have won 21 of those 30 games.
“He’s proven that he certainly can play here on an every-day basis,” Roberts said. “When you’re an every-day catcher, you don’t get to cherry-pick when you play. I can’t cherry-pick matchups for him. So he’s playing against really good pitchers. He’s catching different pitchers. So he’s growing.
“I think he’s also understanding that to play more you’ve got to manage your emotions more. It’s just hard to be hot and cold when you’re playing five days a week. It’s all a part of his growth which has been fun for me to watch.”
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the Dodgers have seen enough from Rushing that they are not shopping for a front-line catcher before the trade deadline.
“We wouldn’t be focused on guys where it would impede Dalton’s development,” Friedman said, although he said adding catching depth is always “helpful.”
“Even if Will were back tomorrow, it’s always an area that you can look to strengthen.”
TURN AROUND
It has been a season-long search for Kyle Tucker, trying to find something that could unlock the kind of offensive production that made him such a hot commodity on the free-agent market last winter. More than a few times, he has thought he found it.
“A lot. A lot more than I’d like,” he said. “I’ve kind of at times thought I found something and I turn the page and it just kind of goes away and it’s back to Square One. That’s where you’ve just kind of got to keep working, keep grinding and keep moving forward.
“It’s all just trying to barrel up balls and see where it goes from there.”
Even with home runs in back-to-back games for the first time with the Dodgers on Friday and Saturday, though, Tucker is in another slump. He was 7 for 43 (.163) in his last 12 games before Sunday.
Tucker said he has tried everything – specific drills in the batting cage, studying film, whatever.
“I’ve done a bunch of stuff. Just see what works,” he said. “I’ve done a bunch of one-handed swings, trying to get the right slot and path, elbow being on plane and everything. Just trying to do that and see what will work and try to continue it.
“Sometimes I try to take less swings. Sometimes I take more swings. Sometimes I hit a bunch of times during the day. It kind of just depends. Just trying to find something that works, something that clicks. If it does, try to keep it going from there. I’ve done a bunch of stuff this year.”
REHAB REPORT
Kiké Hernandez went 7 for 21 with hits in each of his six rehab appearances with Triple-A Oklahoma City. He played first and third base and left field. Hernandez is expected to come off the Injured List on Tuesday.
Left-hander Blake Snell is scheduled to make his third rehab start with OKC on Wednesday. Snell has gone 1 ⅓ and 2 ⅔ innings in his first two rehab starts, throwing 32 and 49 pitches. The target Wednesday will be four innings.
Right-hander Ben Casparius saw his first game action since April when he started a rehab assignment with OKC Saturday night. He had been out with a shoulder injury. Casparius pitched ⅔ of an inning, allowing a run on a walk and a double.
UP NEXT
The Dodgers are off Monday.