Dodgers Notes: Glasnow, Smith, Rushing

Tyler Glasnow was initially supposed to start for the Dodgers in tonight’s series opener in Baltimore. Los Angeles instead pushed Shohei Ohtani up from his scheduled start on Monday. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters that came about after Glasnow reported back stiffness this afternoon (link via Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register).

Roberts framed it as a precautionary measure and suggested they’re hopeful the righty can take the ball in a few days. That’d line him up for a home start against the Rockies early next week. The Dodgers will stick with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Clayton Kershaw for the final two games of the Orioles series. Swapping Glasnow into what would’ve been Ohtani’s spot on Monday would be the simplest solution if the back issue subsides.

Glasnow missed a couple months in the first half with shoulder inflammation. He has been healthy since his activation on July 9. He has worked to a 3.41 ERA while striking out 29% of opponents across 14 starts. He had a minimal injured list stint related to back tightness last season, though that came around the All-Star Break and allowed the Dodgers to keep his innings in check.

The Dodgers have a more pressing injury situation behind the plate. Will Smith has missed the past two games after taking a foul ball off his throwing hand on Wednesday. Roberts said before tonight’s game that he’s dealing with a bone bruise that he’ll need to manage for the remainder of the season (via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). The Dodgers hope Smith can avoid the injured list but don’t expect him to play this weekend.

That already spurred one roster move. The Dodgers selected Ben Rortvedt yesterday to get a third catcher on the active roster. Rortvedt was to back up Dalton Rushing as long as Smith was unable to play. Rortvedt will temporarily occupy the top spot on the depth chart now. Rushing was forced out of tonight’s game after fouling a ball off his right leg in the sixth inning. He needed to be helped off the field. The Dodgers announced the injury as a right lower leg contusion.

Initial x-rays came back negative. That doesn’t mean he’s out of the woods for a serious injury. Roberts said Rushing will go for a CT scan (relayed by Jack Harris of The Los Angeles Times). He may need an injured list stint and has already been ruled out for tomorrow’s game. That’ll force the Dodgers to make another move to bring up a catcher who can work behind Rortvedt.

That’s probably going to be Chuckie Robinson, a May waiver claim who was outrighted off the roster a few days later. The only other catcher on the Triple-A active roster, 21-year-old Carlos Avila, has 12 games above rookie ball and was just assigned there yesterday to replace Rortvedt. Robinson has not played in the big leagues this year but has 51 games of MLB experience. He’s a career .132/.170/.194 hitter who has a .264/.349/.368 line with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Smith’s injury already cost Alexis Díaz his 40-man roster spot; he was designated for assignment to make room for Rortvedt. They’ll need to drop someone else from the roster tomorrow, assuming they’re still hopeful of getting Brock Stewart back and don’t want to move him to the 60-day injured list.