The Dodgers are going to select catcher Ben Rortvedt to their roster, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. That’s to give the club another catcher for the next few days as it’s unlikely Will Smith will play this weekend. Ardaya noted earlier that Dalton Rushing will start tonight, so Rortvedt will presumably back him up while Smith rests. Corresponding moves will be required to add Rortvedt to the active and 40-man rosters.
The issue stems from last night, when Smith was struck by a foul ball on his throwing hand, as seen in this video from MLB.com. Per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, Smith is getting a CT scan today which will determine if he needs to go on the injured list. Even if he avoids the IL, he’s going to miss a few days. The Dodgers naturally don’t want to play with Rushing as their only catcher, so they are adding Rortvedt to give them a bit of cover.
Losing Smith for any amount of time is a blow. He has a .296/.405/.497 batting line and 153 wRC+ this year. His glovework isn’t particularly well regarded but he has nonetheless been credited with 4.1 wins above replacement this year by FanGraphs. Naturally, the Dodgers will be hoping he can be back after a few days. At this time of year, anything longer than a day-to-day issue runs the risk of pushing through the end of the regular season.
Rushing will try to make up some of the slack. He has only hit .190/.256/.293 in his first 129 big league plate appearances but in sporadic playing time while backing up Smith. He has far better minor league numbers and it’s possible he could get into a better groove with more reps. Though if Smith is back in a few days, that may be a moot point.
Rortvedt, 27, seemed to establish himself as a legit big league catcher with the Rays last year. He got into 112 games and slashed .228/.317/.303 in 328 plate appearances. His 87 wRC+ indicates he was 13% below the league average hitter, but backstops are usually about 10% below par, so that’s decent enough for a backup. Given his solid defensive grades, he was credited with 1.4 fWAR last year.
Unfortunately, he didn’t carry that over into 2025. Through late May, he had a .095/.186/.111 slash line. He was designated for assignment and no club claimed him off waivers. A couple of months later, the Dodgers picked up him as part of a three-team trade with the Rays and Reds. The Dodgers subtracted some catching depth in that deal by sending Hunter Feduccia to Tampa but got back prospect Adam Serwinowski and reliever Paul Gervase.
Rortvedt effectively replaced Feduccia as the Dodgers’ #3 catcher. He hasn’t been having a good season in the minors either, with a combined .205/.299/.333 line and 66 wRC+ between the Triple-A clubs of the Rays and Dodgers, but he’s a competent defender who’s been in the big leagues for a few years. If the Dodgers want to cut him from the roster later, he is out of options.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Dude is a career .186/.276/.265 hitter and he keeps getting looks.
When pitchers were this bad at hitting, MLB put in a DH.
They need the fully automated strike zone so bad so we don’t have to watch low A level hitters trying to hit big league pitching, just because they can frame a pitch well and trick the umpire.
It’s known as the Rortvedt test. Some see an anemic hitter who inexplicably keeps getting MLB playing time. Others see a stopgap who teams have no qualms letting go when their regulars get healthy.
Instead of ink, I believe the mediums utilized are either pine tar or tobacco juice.
An ABS system only addresses pitch-framing. What about other skills like pitch-calling, blocking, throwing runners out, and communication?
When Smith starts run run run.
He’s tied for second best in mlb at caught stealing rate. So, what?
foxsports.com/mlb/stats?category=fieldingii&s…
That’s actually incorrect. He has the second most caught stealings yes but his “rate” is behind at least 4 players and that’s just at a close glance.
Batting 205 in the minors so it’s easy to see Friedman’s attraction.
Cool name.
of course he would make his Dodgers debut in a win or lose moment and not deliver. I’m really starting to doubt Roberts, and I have done my best to not blame him for as much as others.
2 outs and two men on. Dodgers are charging, so cool Dave sends the one guy who might not come through, in that situation.
Apparently it was a good move. Rushing went down with a hard foul to the shin.
Hopefully he’s ok.
Rortvedt caught 2 near no-hitters by Yamamoto and Glasnow/Trienen in 3 days so it seems he’s working well with Dodgers pitching, also contributed to getting on base ahead of Ohtani & Betts.