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Dodgers' Will Smith Still Not Making Progress One Month After Neck Injury The latest update from Dave Roberts did nothing to suggest the Dodgers' starting catcher is close to a return from the injured list.
Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith during batting practice before the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium on June 16.
| IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connectby a neck injury that has proven more serious than the club initially expected.
The latest update is no better than the last."I think he's swinging but again, it's not a 'ramp up' situation," Roberts said.
"It's just kind of trying to stay active.
"on June 6 with an injury the manager described as a stiff neck.
The expectation at the time was that he would miss only a game or two.Instead, continued discomfort led the Dodgers to place the three-time All-Star on the 10-day injured list with neck inflammation, laterSmith originally targeted a return when he first became eligible to come off the injured list, but his recovery stalled as symptoms persisted.
Rather than improving quickly, the veteran catcher remained unable to resume regular baseball activities.
In the meantime, the Dodgers are relying on Dalton Rushing and backups Chuckie Robinson and Eliezer Alfonzo while Smith continues treatment.Rushing swings a competent bat, particularly for a backup catcher.
After a torrid start , Rushing settled in to produce a .231/.325/.347 slash line across his last 50 games.
But Smith's work behind the plate has been missed.
In nearly the same sample size of plate appearances, Smith has helped pitchers yield a 3.02 ERA, compared to 3.69 for Rushing." needs experience," Betts said.
"This is his experience and I feel like hes learning on the fly.
Hes getting better.
But not having Smitty and seeing what he did for the pitching staff on top of hitting, makes me really appreciate him.Roberts recently said Smith would not return before the All-Star break, citing lingering neck discomfort and the need for the injury to calm down before he could resume catching duties.
Now it's clear he'll need more than eight days to ramp back up, likely going out on a minor league rehabilitation assignment first.
Thus, Smith is unlikely to be back before late July at the earliest and that is dependent on him actually starting to progress.
J.P.Hoornstra is an On SI Contributor.
A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers in California, J.P.
covered MLB, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Los Angeles Angels from 2012-23 for the Southern California News Group.
His first book, The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games of All-Time, published in 2015.
In 2016, he won an Associated Press Sports Editors award for breaking news coverage.He once recorded a keyboard solo on the same album as two of the original Doors.