November 13th: Prior to being put on waivers, Rortvedt and the Dodgers avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, $1.25MM deal, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The Dodgers presumably hoped that Rortvedt would clear waivers and accept an outright assignment, therefore staying as depth without taking up a roster spot. However, the Reds prevented that from happening.
November 12th: The Dodgers announced that catcher Ben Rortvedt has been claimed off waivers by the Reds. There was no previous indication that Rortvedt had been designated for assignment, so this drops the Los Angeles 40-man roster count to 39. The Reds, meanwhile, go from 37 to 38.
Rortvedt, 28, has bounced around the league quite a bit. He has just 227 big league games under his belt but those have come with four different teams. He has suited up for the Twins, Yankees, Rays and Dodgers. He has put up good defensive numbers in that time but hasn’t hit much. Overall, he has a .190/.279/.270 batting line in 633 plate appearances.
Given the strength of his glovework, even a bit more offense can make him a valuable player. He showed that with the Rays in 2024. His .228/.317/.303 slash wasn’t great in a vacuum. It led to an 87 wRC, indicating he was 13% below league average overall. However, that’s not so bad for a catchers, as backstops are usually about 10% below par. Thanks to his glovework and that passable offense, FanGraphs credited him with 1.4 wins above replacement on the year.
He couldn’t keep it going into 2025. He started the year with a .095/.186/.111 performance and was outrighted to the minors by early June. He was then flipped to the Dodgers as part of the three-team deadline deal which sent Zack Littell to Cincinnati. Rortvedt was called up when Will Smith was injured and hit a more serviceable .224/.309/.327 down the stretch. With Smith still injured as the playoffs began, Rortvedt was the club’s regular behind the plate. He put up a hilarious .429/.500/.571 line in four games before Smith took over. Rortvedt stayed on the roster through the rest of the playoffs but didn’t play in the NLCS or World Series.
Going into 2026, Smith and Dalton Rushing project as the Dodgers’ top two catchers. Rortvedt is out of options. He’s also eligible for arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $1.3MM salary. Presumably, the Dodgers weren’t planning to tender him a contract. They put him on waivers and gave him a chance to land somewhere else.
The Reds are an interesting landing spot for Rortvedt. They had Tyler Stephenson and Jose Trevino as their primary catchers in 2025. Trevino has been a strong defender in his career but was closer to average in 2025. His bat has never been great but his .238/.272/.351 line in 2025 was below his own standards. He is signed through 2027 with a club option for 2028.
Stephenson, meanwhile, has never received strong grades for his work behind the plate. He has been a good hitter in his career, however. He was league average in 2025 but has shown the potential for more. He slashed .296/.369/.454 for a 120 wRC+ from 2020 to 2022. Over the past three years, he has a .246/.325/.414 line and 99 wRC+. Stephenson is heading into his final arbitration season with a projected salary of $6.4MM.
With Rortvedt now in the fold, the Reds have some options. Since Stephenson isn’t a strong defender, perhaps he could spend more time at first base this year, while leaving the catching duties to Trevino and Rortvedt. It’s also possible the Reds look to see if there’s any trade interest in Stephenson or Trevino. Alternatively, they could hold all three. They could tender Rortvedt a contract and then try to pass him through waivers later. Since his service time is between three and five years, he would have the right to elect free agency but would have to forfeit his salary commitments in exercising that right.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Thanks for helping, Ben. Enjoy your ring!
I firmly believe Rortvedt helped dodgers win the west due to his catchers ERA with the starters especially.
Kind of thought the dodgers would find a way to keep him
Rushing likely to remain a Dodger
As was always the case. That won’t stop people from assuming he’ll be traded, anyway.
Rushing is the prospect, Ben was depth who shined. Does look like Stephenson might move off catching.
Top 100- Better watch out, I suggested the same thing and the know it all’s went crazy screaming about how Stephenson doesn’t want to play first.
He picks things up and puts them down
Strange claim. The Reds already have 2 veteran catchers and Rortvedt is out of options.
I guess they could potentially save money trading Stevenson but that would be lame
Replacing Stephenson with Rortvedt would be a head-scratcher for a team desparste to add offense.
It’s the way they operate.
Definitely, unless they plan you use that money on someone else.
The plan is for him to clear waivers in March and accept an assignment to Louisville. Reds don’t care if they pay him to play there.
That is definitely the plan. Kind of ridiculous article getting into moving Stevenson off position for this guy. Reds also have no system depth. So they hopin they can slide him through later
He could also be cut tmrw lol
I hope he makes the Reds lineup at some point so we can hear the Ultimate Sax guy walkup music at GABP
Since the Reds don’t have a ton of money to spend, they could let Stephenson’s arbitration number come through and either try to trade him or even release him if the salary doesn’t match with his projected offensive value. They would take the savings and invest it elsewhere. It would be a classic Reds move.
Ben really impressed with his handling of Dodgers pitchers from the moment he came in. While he did hit well, or was his handling of high end pitching that really helped the team
Pitchers loved pitching to him, and he called a string of exceptional games. Bummed we couldn’t keep the guy in some capacity. He’ll be an asset to the Reds if they utilize him properly.
I really thought he was the next Austin Barnes type of backup. Wish him well. The guy is one heck of a game caller.
Rortvedt increased the team SCRP% exponentially. Loved his time behind the dish.
I love what the guy did the last month of the season for the pitching staff, but this isnt a big loss for the Dodgers. I hope he learns how to hit consistently and sticks in the bigs for a bit. Good dude.
Bye-bye Ben. Take your ring and get outta here!
Seriously, I thought the Dodgers would hang onto him. The plan for Rushing is less clear than ever.
How so? If anything, this makes Rushing’s role MORE clear than ever. He’s going to be the primary backup and will likely see a good amount of playing time in order to keep Smith fresh throughout the season. Wasn’t that always the plan?
plus Daulton has a few hundred games played in the OF in the minors….probably factored that in too
Not really. Converting the organization’s top catching prospect into a backup role represents a major reduction in expectations for his development, and also hinders it big time. It also craters his trade value. The speculation is he might get some work in the OF such that he has a chance to play more than once a week is another entirely new plan for him.
It’s the Dodgers. We want high level players in every roster slot. He needs development behind the plate and at the plate in the majors.
There has been talk of eventually moving Smith to first or third, so taking a more methodical approach to Rushing makes sense if they see him as the eventually starting catcher.
He’s not going to be just a backup, though. He’s going to see plenty of playing time. Again, this was always the plan. This was made pretty clear when they called him up mid-season after releasing Barnes. He was never going back to OKC.
It’s going to be more of a catching tandem rather than a strict “starter/backup” situation, Smith will just happen to start more often.
Get real. How many days are the Dodgers going put Smith’s fanny on the bench? Barring injury, maybe once a week.
When he was spending less time behind the plate he was better rested and a much more consistent threat offensively.
That’s the goal moving forward. Because in previous years his offense tailed off in the second half.
Last year he was at an MVP pace before he got hurt.
You didn’t really respond to my point, I guess because the answer remains the same: about once a week. This makes Rushing your garden variety backup catcher, blocked for the foreseeable future, and therefore no longer a top catching prospect in anybody’s book. This is why I thought the Dodgers should have traded him last summer when he still had prospect value.
Dodgers don’t need his prospect value to be high. Why would you be concerned about it?
Dodgers want his bat to develop and his defensive versatility to increase. They can do that with him on the team better than him being in the minors.
They would also like his game calling to keep improving. Ben’s game calling was unexpectedly good, which is why he kept starting games when Rushing was ready to come back. There a lesson for everyone in what Ben did with his pitch strategy.
Because last summer as still a top prospect he could have been the centerpiece of a trade for the high-leverage reliever they needed. Now, not so much. After another year of playing once a week, probably not at all. No real opportunity for his bat to improve, either. You provided the other part of my answer. Rortvedt calls a good game. In other words, the ideal backup catcher.
You talk like the Dodgers don’t have one of the best farm systems in baseball to trade from.. And don’t have an abundance of experienced MLB arms they could trade for the right player.
And even if Rushing is a full time catcher talent, why not have him backing up Smith? He’s cheap too.
It’s the freaking Dodgers lol. We have three mvps leading off the lineup. Why not have potential all star talent at every position? You seem to act like it’s a problem.
We’ve already traded other top catching prospects and just let another solid catcher go.
I don’t talk like that at all, and I don’t act like anything. I made a specific point about a specific player. If you are interested in responding to this point, please feel free to do so, but without putting words into my mouth I haven’t said. Thank you.
Fair enough.
The dodgers have the resources to have a player who would start on most teams in all 24 active roster spots.
Why not continue to get their top prospect more playing time in the majors? If he’s a backup, then he’s a backup.
Just because we have four number one starters doesn’t mean we can’t go after a fifth number one starter. The Dodgers decided a couple years ago to go all in during the Mookie Betts window, and they have. Let’s stack the deck and keep winning until something catches up with the team lol. Age, contracts, mass injuries, etc.
I feel as if I’ve answered this question several times already. But to reiterate, backup catchers by definition don’t get much playing time. They are in the lineup once a week, at best. Rushing I see as getting even less playing time than others might. His bat makes him a black hole in the lineup, especially compared to the other guy. He won’t have much opportunity to get better.
The moment the Dodgers extended Smith to the end of his playing career (and beyond, realistically), they blocked all of their catching prospects. Better to trade them for a player they can use while their stock is high than to bury them in the depth chart where it’s going to get pummeled. On Rushing, that window of opportunity is probably closed — but not because it wasn’t ever open.
Starting pitchers still pitch the same amount regardless of how good the rest of their rotation is. Rushing is blocked by Smith completely. I’d move him like they did w/ Liranzo and Ruiz.
From top prospect to the next Austin Barnes….
With no options this means Stephenson will be traded but I still don’t see who we could trade him for that would give us the offense we lacked last year along with the difference in offense of Stephenson over Trevino.
I guess I am OK of having Trevino in the lineup instead of Stephenson if that means we can sign schwarber but I don’t think we would be able to trade Stephenson to a Schwarber type hitter.
The return on Stephenson wouldn’t be much but the money saved would be somewhat significant for a ‘poor’ team
Reds don’t have this guy in the fold for start of 26. They’ll try to sneak him through waivers for 3A depth.
They run out of catching depth in AAA, that’s all. They’ll resign him to a split contract.
Ben carried himself like a proper pro at the Dodgers. He seemed to elevate our pitching staff in a time when we seemed to be scuffling.
As a human, as a pro I rate this guy.
Good luck to the Reds
I know his bat is this bad that but you hit a good one there.
I’d be happy if Trevy gets traded back to the Yankees. He’s a great guy and real pro. They need a righty to back up lefty Wells. The pitchers loved throwing to him.
I was shocked he had a down year. He seemed serviceable when I saw him out there
No downside here. Insulation against an injury in the spring; might be traded for something somewhat useful if another team has an injury. Or they just waive him again.
Best wishes Ben. Dodger fans appreciate your efforts and professionalism during your 2025 appearances. Thank you and best wishes again!
Sayonara Tyler, and thanks for the contribution.
Still remember the HR in your first AB (Don’t be late)…
Good move by the Reds, As a twin fan here still a little irked he had to be included in the Donaldson for IKF haul.
Should be a legit #2 Catcher w/ a floor as a #3 for the next half decade especially if ur #1 ( Stephenson) is a RH batter
I’ve been thinking about this Stephenson dilemma for a while. Next season is Ty’s walk year. It sounds like he is asking for more than the Reds think he is worth. IMO I wouldn’t want to tie up too much payroll space on a catcher who is pretty much average. One source had him ranked 12 in MLB. So the choice is trade him now and get something in return or have him walk for nothing. Pretty we won’t put a QO on him. Players in their walk year tend to have good seasons. That’s a plus if we are contenders next year. And remember we have Duno on the way as he is now on MLBs top 100. Decision time.
bOb may never let Krall use the QO again, after last year lol
Had the Reds not used the QO on Martinez last year they likely wouldn’t have made the playoffs, they didn’t have the healthy depth to replace him. And, if Singer pitches in 2026 like he did in 2025 (assuming he’s still a Red on opening day), he will be QO’d too.
Don’t get me wrong about this because I think singer is a solid middle of the rotation type pitcher and I don’t think we should trade any of our starting pitchers even with our depth because injuries are always going to happen. With that said if singer comes back in 2026 and they make him a QO for 2027 and not sign Schwarber to a multi year deal then the reds will never make it past the first round of the playoffs as long as they have this ownership group and this front office.
If they have enough money they can give out $22 million QO’s to mid rotation pitchers then they can get the free agent they need to do more than make the post season and not advance.
Reds already spending, look at that.
If they are spending 1.2 million, that tells you Stephenson is getting the India treatment this off season, as I suspected when they extended Trevino instead. They’ll never pay two catchers long term.
Kinda brutal way to do Ty Steve, considering the 1st round pick, and all the years they invested in him.
Not a good look for our aleeady-cheap owner.
Glad you brought up India. The FO you hate so much came out WAY ahead in that deal. We got a 200 inning 30 start pitcher for a .220 hitter that is subpar defensively. And just how was India mistreated? By trading him?
Strongly disagree, they’re going to do the same thing the Dodgers wanted to do – pay him to play as a 3rd catcher in Louisiville. It’s not the first time the Reds have done this.
Yeah, with Krall’s recent payroll comments, Stephenson does seem like a good bet to be heading out of town after this move.
Roortvedt seemed like a much better fit than Rushing for the Dodgers. Smith has C locked up for years, Freddie has 1st locked up. Rushing is pretty much going to be limited to back-up duty and I dont see him being content with that. I was thinking Rushing would be an excellent trade chip.
Never know, a lot can happen between now and the trade deadline.
1. He is out of options
2. If he was worth claiming why wouldn’t someone else claim him in the spring and
3. If someone else does claim him what has been the point?
Seems like Stephenson is going to be traded. Not sure what happened if Banfiels is still in the organization but if he is the only way this makes sense is that this guy will be on the 26 man roster come April.
2. Roster spots are much harder to come by in March than November. This move should have zero bearing on Stephenson’s status with the Reds.
“Meanwhile” should START the sentence, not come in the middle between commas.