The Dodgers have gotten top catching prospect Dalton Rushing looks at first base and in the corner outfield to expand his defensive portfolio, but Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports that at least for the time being, Rushing will serve only as a catcher in the majors. The 24-year-old is set to make his MLB debut tonight when catching a bullpen game, and the plan is for him to catch twice a week while also participating in daily game-planning meetings, catching bullpen sessions and serving as a true understudy to veteran backstop Will Smith.
Rushing, the No. 40 overall draft pick in 2022, has torched Triple-A pitching dating back to 2024. He’s tallied 301 plate appearances there and turned in a .289/.409/.512 batting line, taking walks in more than 15% of his plate appearances along the way. Perhaps down the road, Rushing could see time at other positions if his bat again forces the team’s hand, but manager Dave Roberts likened today’s promotion to that of Smith several years ago.
“We did it with Will before his rookie year (when we) brought him up in September to get assimilated with how we do things on the game-planning stuff,” said the skipper. “In one sense, to not take at-bats every day, you could see some downside. But I think that having (him) here in this environment, around our pitchers, around our coaches … I think just net sum was more positive.”
Rushing will likely get the nod behind the dish tonight in a bullpen game that would have gone to right-hander Roki Sasaki were it not for a trip to the 15-day injured list due to a shoulder impingement. ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez writes that Sasaki’s shoulder discomfort began earlier this month. The right-hander himself described the issue as not necessarily painful, but limited mobility in his shoulder. Even in the absence of strict pain, sub-optimal range of motion in the shoulder is an obvious detriment to any pitcher’s ability on the mound.
The onset of the discomfort appears particularly evident when looking at Sasaki’s game log. He averaged 96.4 mph on his heater through his first six starts of the season but sat at 94.8 mph in each of his two most recent turns. His splitter had a similar drop, going from 85.2 mph on average to 84 mph. Even prior to his recent velo dip, Sasaki wasn’t throwing as hard as he did in Japan. Still, the results in those two most recent outings weren’t pretty — eight runs on 11 hits and four walks with only four strikeouts in nine innings pitched — and the Dodgers will now give that ailing shoulder a break.
A firm timetable for Sasaki’s absence isn’t yet established. Gonzalez notes that at least for now, Sasaki isn’t expected to receive any kind of injection to treat the shoulder. He’ll be down for a to-be-determined period, but the Dodgers will be back to a five-man rotation in short order, with Clayton Kershaw’s return set for this weekend.
Also on the mend are top starters Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. Jack Harris of the L.A. Times reports that Snell was throwing in the outfield yesterday and is again moving forward with his throwing program after it was pushed back last week. Gonzalez adds that Glasnow, too, has been cleared to resume throwing. Both former All-Stars will need to progress through several milestones and then head out on a minor league rehab assignment, so a return for either isn’t exactly just around the corner — but it’s nevertheless encouraging to hear that both are trending in the right direction.
With all due respect to Snell and Glasnow, Yamamoto now deserves to be called the Dodgers’ top starter.
We knew that.
Author refers to Blake and Tyler as Dodgers “top starters”, not on this team
Pluralizing matters.
True. But Glasnow is the number 3 or 4. That is middle of the rotation, not top.
Yamamoto
Snell
Ohtani
Glasnow
Kershaw
Sasaki
Gonsolin
We’ll see where Ohtani fits into the rotation when he starts to pitch competitively again. My guess is they blend him in with starts about every other week for a while.
do people really think snell is that good because of the cy Young’s? he is a 5 and dive. his average start for his whole career is 5.1 innings
I still am amazed at how the Dodgers do roster construction. It still feels like everybody else has the 26 man roster, etc. and meanwhile the Dodgers have somehow found an arcane rule that allows them to have a 2,643 man roster.
If Rushing performs well both behind and at the plate, the Dodgers will have their hand forced on the plan to start him no more than once or twice a week. A new catcher has a lot to learn, but he can learn only so much sitting in the dugout.
T’would be a good problem to have.
I suppose, but not a sustainable one. One way or another, the Dodgers will have to decide soon whether Rushing is a starting or backup catcher. If the former, he will have to be traded because that role is blocked, effectively forever. The analogy to the way Smith came up goes only so far because he wasn’t similarly blocked from advancing into the role he has now.
Whether the problem gets solved with a position change for either Will or Dalton, or with a trade, Rushing proving he’s for real is a plus.
I don’t think they trade him if he does well. I think they just have two good catchers and get them ABs elsewhere on the diamond.
I concur.
No argument there. They can juggle him for maybe the balance of the season. He’ll get a good education working with the coaching staff and the big league pitchers. After that, something will have to give. Just don’t be shocked by what happens if he does establish himself, is all I’m saying.
Shock me, please.
@blue
Would think Smith, already signed for basically his career, would eventually move to 3b. He’s not the greatest ball blocker, and it would allow Rushjng to play his natural position.
Clear!
As long as Smith keeps producing, and stays healthy, he’s the guy. If Rushing, and the Dodgers want more playing time for him, it’ll have to be in LF.
That said, if I had a say, I’d have already started grooming Smith for 3rd base. I think he’d be a good fit there, it would save his knees, and prolong his offensive numbers, not only throughout the year, but as he gets older. It would also solve the ongoing Muncy problem.
Maybe if Rushing pans out at this level, they can consider something like that.
As tough as it to see Sam go, his bat and arm haven’t really been good for many years. Coming out of college, his bat was his strength. Hope to see him do better somewhere that might see him do better with nore PAs.
If Rushing is getting in about 5 games/week (C, LF, RF, 1B) in mid-June, they’ll be an even tougher lineup to face.
Pardon the do better remix.
Do better
Do better > “be best.”
Wouldn’t want to be an understudy to a catcher that is signed through 2033
Rushing looked pretty happy in the dugout last night.
I wonder how long they have Will catch? Playing half time at the position would extend both their careers.
There’re not a lot of options at the moment. But openings have a way of presenting themselves.
If he hits he’ll get his playing time.
Like em or hate em, have to respect that the Dodgers are a smart team.
The Dodgers are going to bring up Ruiz soon to replace Conforto, he’s got 20 SBs already with AAA OKC. With Ruiz and with Hernandez and Edman back on the 26 man roster, they don’t have any holes to plug.
Their rotation should be the best in baseball by a long shot:
Kershaw
Ohtani
Yamamoto
Snell
Gonsolin
Glasnow
They move Sasaki and May to the bullpen with Scott, Yates, and Vesia. Kopech returns from the IR.
Banda, Feyerson and Garcia will all be released.
The Dodgers could make a trade but I dont see where they upgrade unless they take on a big contract and add a superstar like Rafael Devers.
They havent been fully healthy yet, havent seen Ruiz yet, they are going to get it all together at some point this season and it will be interesting.
Dalton Rushing only fits in at backup catcher.
Arenado is more likely, since Devers is a glorified DH at this point. Dodgers aren’t desperate enough for a bat to take on the sieve on his left hand….
I really don’t see someone like Devers being a fit. This public 3B/DH/1B debacle doesn’t mesh with what the Dodgers are about, and at his preferred position he’s a butcher defensively. DH is locked up for the next 9 years with Ohtani, and he won’t play 1B. Not that that matters, Freeman isn’t going anywhere.
The interesting thing about the Dodgers’ preference for flexibility is that Ohtani locks up that for DH, but that’s part of the Dodger MO. Make the move for the right guy at the right time. And when you lose the ability to rotate guys through DH to give them a day off from the field, you are fine with it when it’s for a once in a lifetime player like Shohei Ohtani. Same type of patience is was what got them Mookie Betts, refusing to budge from what they preferred to offer free agents.
I dont know, Devers bat more than makes up for his deficiencies at third. He is one of the best hitters in the league, he is serviceable at third.
There is no way the Dodgers go after Devers, great hitter or not. Tell me…what is worse his defense or his attitude?
He’s really not “serviceable” at third. He’s a legitimate liability there.