Will Smith has been dealing with a bone bruise in his left ankle for almost nine months, as the Dodgers catcher revealed to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and other reporters this weekend. Smith hurt his ankle while sliding into second base to try and break up a double play in the Dodgers’ 11-3 win over the Yankees on June 8, and he has been dealing with some level of discomfort ever since, though Smith didn’t go on the injured list or even miss really any time in the aftermath of the injury. The issue has persisted even after an offseason of rest, resulting in Smith being held out of Spring Training games until last Friday.
Smith said his ankle is only sore when he runs, and he is otherwise able to catch and hit normally. As Ardaya notes, Smith’s post-injury numbers imply otherwise — Smith hit .292/.361/.498 in 238 plate appearances though June 8, and then only .213/.301/.382 in 306 PA afterwards, plus a .568 OPS over 65 more trips to the plate during the playoffs. Los Angeles GM Brandon Gomes implied that the team might be more open to giving Smith extra off-days to keep him healthy and more well-rested in general for what the Dodgers hope is another deep postseason run.
This might not be the most prominent Will Smith-related news item to ever arise on an Oscar night, but let’s move onto some other notes from around the National League…
- Austin Gomber was scratched from a scheduled start today due to some soreness in his throwing shoulder, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding writes. Testing revealed no structural damage, though Rockies manager Bud Black wasn’t sure when Gomber might be back on the mound. While Gomber isn’t a high-velocity pitcher, his fastball was also down a tick during his first Spring Training start last week, so the matter didn’t solely arise today. Gomber viewed the situation as “a reset” rather than anything too serious, saying “maybe I would have tried to push it a little bit more if we were in a different spot on the calendar. But it being so early in the year, I just felt like I wanted to take a few days to try to get a touch better and not have something that’s like nagging throughout the year.” The veteran southpaw has been part of Colorado’s rotation for the last four seasons, and he posted a 4.75 ERA in 165 innings in 2024.
- A.J. Minter underwent season-ending hip surgery last August, and he hit a big checkpoint in his rehab process by throwing 20-25 pitches during a live batting practice session. Minter told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and other reporters that he “felt good” in the aftermath, and figures he’ll have at least one more live BP session before taking part in a proper Spring Training game setting. Despite Minter’s injury, his track record as a reliable bullpen arm led to plenty of interest on the free agent market, and he joined the Mets on a two-year, $22MM deal (with an opt-out after the first year). His progress hints that he might be able to be part of New York’s roster on Opening Day, but “we’re going to be smart about this. If I have to miss a few days or a couple weeks, my goal is to help this team at the end of the season.”
I think I would shut Smith down and try to get him fully healthy.
How many more months do you suppose this recovery would take?
I don’t think it matters. The Dodgers have Smith signed long term. I wouldn’t want this injury to become some kind of chronic condition.
Smith is one of the most irreplaceable players on the team, but even having said that, the Dodgers are talented enough to ride out his absence. My focus would be long-tem health over short-term results.
I’m sure it does matter, even without knowing whether a bone bruise can become a chronic condition.
DonOsbourne: Do you have medical or sports injury training that qualifies you to judge or even speculate whether his injury can become any kind of condition, chronic or otherwise?
Haha! I knew that question was coming.
No. I do not.
I simply offered my opinion on the situation and the reasons I feel that way. I do not expect Will Smith or the Dodgers to use my opinion in their decision making process. This is a comment section. Opinions are offered all the time on a variety of subjects. I am not attempting to pass my opinions off as fact.
If facts are of any interest (I know, an almost obsolete concept), out of curiosity I looked up bone bruises. I find that they typically heal about as quickly as fractures. So, usually a couple of months. Improperly treated bone bruises can have long-term consequences, but it is difficult to imagine the Dodgers not giving this injury the proper attention and treatment. So in my completely non-medical opinion, we can’t know what is going on with Smith’s bone bruise, as far as why it hasn’t cleared up completely.
Knowing how competitive Smith is, he may keep playing (like last season?) and not rest it as much as the doctors suggest
Hopefully, he’s very open with trainers, Doc, and doctors (not necessarily in that order) and forthright about where he’s at with symptoms.
Worst case, this gives Rushing a chance to perform.
Edman made it less of an issue, but if Smith is not hitting like he typically does and another big RHB gets hurt, they’ll be vulnerable facing a tough LHP.
Also, the catcher squat? I know they don’t do it as much anymore and get knee down often, but talk about a position that is demanding of ankles and knees. Has his pop time slowed since June 8?
Side note/claim related to former LAD kiler/division rival….if Biggio never moves off catcher, he does NOT make the HOF.
Bone bruises can last for a very long time and have on going symptoms similar to a broken bone. They can be very painful
Don’t worry about it,Don. He’s only on this site to criticize,rather than contribute
Dalton Rushing is ready.
Catching is just plain demanding. It’s the hardest position in the game to play, on body and mind. But no matter how tough any player thinks he is, he just can’t simply say no thank you to an MRI. Some of these comments seem to assume teams don’t stay on top of these injuries, and/or the Dodgers don’t have access to the best sports medicine money can buy. This only leads to asking speculative questions that we can’t answer.
Bone bruises can last a long time if not properly treated.
Wade Garrett is ready also
Who? No such name in the Dodgers’ top 30 prospects.
“This might not be the most prominent Will Smith-related news item to ever arise on an Oscar night…..”
“Oscar night”..You mean the night where all the Hollywood elites spew overtly political nonsense, pat themselves on the back, compete to be the most “progressive” and give themselves numerous awards? That “Oscar” night?
I didn’t watch it but I heard that overall the actors for the most part kept politics out of it which is very surprising given the current political climate. They are still dealing with the aftermath of the wildfires, so that may have played into it.
I heard that overall the actors for the most part kept politics out
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That’s what happens when your ratings absolutely tank, in addition to people ridiculing their opinions. Same with the NFL and NBA.
The ratings went from 24.7 as recently as 2014, to 5.9 in 2021. And when I just read that, apparently Nomadland won the Oscar, And it took me a few minutes to even vaguely remember what that was about.
Wrong forum. This one is about baseball.
I didn’t think what I said was too controversial either way. I tried to pitch it right down the middle. Okay back to baseball.
I don’t think he was talking to you
This one is about baseball.
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When I’m out with the boys, we usually discuss BB and FB. But we also discuss other stuff.
I’d like to consider this place kind of an online pub.
I swear, the only thing more annoying than people making non-political things political, is people who feel the need to whine about non-political things being made political.
Don’t like it? Stop talking about it.
Okay, you win the power whine contest.
I’d say a real annoying thing is when people make something non-political into a political thing, while people have a problem about non-political things being made political, it’s really annoying when people whine about others having a problem making non-political things political.
Don’t like it? Stop politicizing non-political things in the first place.
I know. It’s like the blowhards are becoming snowflakes, and the snowflakes are becoming blowhards. Ultimately, we end up being overwhelmed by blowflakes.
Am I right? Of course, I am.
Snow hard
Too many frosted flakes and fruit loops.
They didn’t have to do the blowflakes. That’s why it’s so hard for me to talk about the blowflakes.
I’ve had bone bruises. They last for awhile, but I never had one that lasted for nine months. Strange.
Are you a professional athlete, playing the most demanding position against the highest level of competition just about daily for 7+ months per year?
He just got 3 months off but I’m guessing he was still working out pretty hard most of the off-season.
@MrSeptember
Did Ruth spend more time in the gym or the bar?
lol.
I was watching winning time when it happened. My phone was blowing up with all sorts of will smith alerts. When I first looked in, I thought it was a hoax. Then I saw Lupita’s face…
Yes, Brandon Gomes, former MLB pitcher, is currently the Dodgers GM. When he was hired in 2022, he cited his “experience as an average player subject to several transactions throughout his career as instrumental to increasing his interest about the work of baseball executives.”
I think at some point the Dodgers are going to be negatively affected by having one immovable logjam at the DH position. This prevents the occasional resting of players and with an increasingly geriatric roster that could prove problematic/catylcalysmic Maybe Ohtani can play some corner outfield at some point. Let some other guys use the spot like Smith.
Ohtani will become an outfielder at some point during that contract. Probably after his next major pitching injury.
Or 1b after FF retires.
Get Minter up
Out of bed?
Bud light won’t help.