{"id":1038056,"date":"2026-09-02T03:16:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T03:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1038056\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T03:16:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T03:16:20","slug":"will-smith-dalton-rushing-among-dodgers-activated-as-rosters-expand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1038056\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Smith, Dalton Rushing among Dodgers activated as rosters expand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Dodgers<\/a> made a flurry of moves on Tuesday as rosters expanded for September, the most surprising of which was activating catcher Dalton Rushing<\/a> (sprained right elbow) off the injured list.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers also activated catcher Will Smith<\/a> (neck) from the IL, optioned outfielder Alek Thomas<\/a> to triple-A Oklahoma City and designated catcher Ben Rortvedt for assignment. With two extra active roster spots for the rest of the season, the team activated left-handed pitcher Justin Wrobleski<\/a> from the IL and recalled infielder Alex Freeland<\/a> from triple A.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re looking at positional value, versatility, right versus left, some power potential, I think that we\u2019ve got a lot of the bases covered,\u201d manager Dave Roberts<\/a> said. \u201cNow it\u2019s just, the carriers, the guys that essentially play every day, need to just perform. But I think that on the peripheral, putting the positional player group together, I like it a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rushing, who has been on the IL since early August, has been working through a hitting progression, and according to Roberts, has also started a throwing program. But Roberts indicated over the weekend that he wasn\u2019t necessarily expecting Rushing to be ready to be activated Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Rushing, however, said at least on the offensive side he never doubted that he could return. He\u2019s set to serve as a left-handed bat off the bench while continuing to build up on the defensive side. <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a hitting side, I think they felt comfortable with how much I\u2019ve been hitting off [the pitching machine] and how much I\u2019ve just really just been hitting over the last three weeks,\u201d Rushing said. \u201cThe swing never really took a break. Usually, you hit the IL and it\u2019s like you do nothing for a week or two, and thankfully for me, it was just no throwing, so I was able to still progress with the bat and feel as comfortable as possible. So I think making this call to allow me to obviously help us off the bench, I think, is an easier call for them.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rushing said he also mixed in \u201cminimal\u201d live batting practice sessions while the Dodgers were on the road. On Tuesday he faced closer Edwin D\u00edaz (neck inflammation) before the Dodgers\u2019 game against the Cardinals. <\/p>\n

Rushing began playing catch again about a week ago, and he\u2019s been throwing about 90-100 feet, while keeping track of his velocity. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been progressing really well,\u201d Rushing said. \u201cVery confident in returning behind the plate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rushing has never been asked to exclusively serve as a pinch-hitter before. But he said this year \u2014 while serving as the primary catcher in Smith\u2019s absence, and entering late in close games \u2014 he\u2019s had a shift in mindset for coming off the bench to hit. <\/p>\n

\u201cUsually, if you\u2019re pinch-hitting, there\u2019s some sort of situation that goes into it, and how well can I play that situation?\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re not really going up there to take your personal at-bat; you\u2019re taking the team at-bat to figure out what is it we need? Do we have a runner on third? Or am I leading off an inning? Am I trying to get a rally going? So it\u2019s understanding what is the task at hand right there, and taking your at-bat as a professional.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dodgers still have catcher Hunter Feduccia on the roster, and he can serve as the backup to Smith while Rushing continues to build up on the defensive side.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not quite there yet on being totally bullish on him getting back [behind the plate],\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI\u2019m hopeful. \u2026 I like where his head is at, though. He\u2019s working hard to get there. But the controlled rehab is different than a snap throw, throwing a guy out at second base.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith returns after being sidelined for almost three months by a nagging neck injury. The plan is for him to catch two of the three games against the Cardinals this week, Roberts said.<\/p>\n

Wrobleski (left forearm inflammation), on the other hand, spent just over two weeks on the IL, as the Dodgers kept an eye on his workload for the overall season. He\u2019s set to join the bullpen, where he\u2019s expected to be in the postseason.<\/p>\n

Freeland, a switch hitter, also provides a left-handed bat. And his addition improves lineup flexibility: when he plays second base, that could free up Tommy Edman to move to center field. The Dodgers don\u2019t yet plan to set up a platoon with Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez in left field, Roberts said, despite his struggles against right-handed pitching.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t bring up an outfielder,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s part of, for right now, the bet on Teo that he can right the ship.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dodgers made a flurry of moves on Tuesday as rosters expanded for September, the most surprising of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1038057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,415215,35123,2442,5386,2961,415213,415214,224,5337,5826,415216,1242,5950,86541,4157,415212,5618,5956],"class_list":["post-1038056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-catcher-ben-rortvedt","tag-dalton-rushing","tag-dodgers","tag-il","tag-la","tag-left-handed-bat","tag-left-handed-pitcher-justin-wrobleski","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-move","tag-nagging-neck-injury","tag-roster","tag-season","tag-september","tag-smith","tag-triple-a-rushing","tag-tuesday","tag-will-smith"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117199279688261455","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1038056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1038057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1038056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1038056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1038056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}