Smith missed his third consecutive game on Tuesday. He went through a light workout but is still bothered by the injury, particularly when hitting. Dave Roberts said an IL move is a possibility.
player ready... PITTSBURGH — A persistent stiff neck kept Will Smith out of the lineup for a third consecutive game on Tuesday and could land him on the injured list.
“I think that now the IL is more of a possibility when you’re talking about with a position player it’s 10 days and then the back-date thought,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Tuesday’s game. “We’re starting to talk about that. ” Smith has not played since Friday, so he is already four days into a potentially back-dated IL move.
Neither of the two catchers currently playing at Triple-A Oklahoma City – journeymen Eliezer Alfonzo and Chuckie Robinson – are on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, meaning a promotion would come with an extra layer of moves to get either of them on the active roster. Roberts said Smith went through a light workout on Tuesday, hitting and playing catch. The neck issue continues to bother him, particularly when hitting.
“It went okay. He just still doesn’t feel right,” Roberts said.
“I don’t know what the thought is or where we’re at on the imaging piece of it. So it’s still a day-to-day situation. But for me, just talking to him, talking to the trainers, I would like him to go through a full day before he plays. So that would probably take tomorrow off the table.
And then we’ll kind of go from there. ” If Dalton Rushing gets a fourth consecutive start on Wednesday, it would be the fourth time this season that he started as many as four games in a row, filling in for Smith. But it would be Rushing’s first time catching Shohei Ohtani this season.
“I think that’s been one of the silver linings, giving Dalton some opportunity,” Roberts said of Rushing,. “I think he’s gotten his footing. I think he’s doing a great job with the pitchers. His at-bat quality is getting more consistent.
The production is there. Just giving him the opportunity is certainly a plus for him and his growth. ”There is a 90% chance of showers in Pittsburgh on Wednesday and a 75% chance on Thursday. Rain delays could impact how deep starting pitchers can go.
“I think fortunately in this case going against Skenes and Jones and Keller, they’re as motivated to protect their starters as we are,” Roberts said. “It seems like we’re always in that situation when we come to Pittsburgh. We’ve got three night games, so I’m not too concerned about getting these games in.
“Obviously like any of our guys, you don’t want to start and stop. I think they’ll certainly be mindful of their guy, our guy. I’m pretty hopeful the weather won’t impact the starting pitching. ” Ohtani is scheduled to start Wednesday’s game.
Roberts said Ohtani will also be in the lineup as DH. As for giving Ohtani the day off after pitching, Roberts said he hadn’t decided that yet but was leaning toward having Ohtani at DH on Thursday with Monday having been an off day for the team.
“Just kind of where he’s at workload-wise, how he feels physically,” Roberts said of the factors he will consider. “But sitting here today I would expect him to be in the lineup on Thursday. ”Right-hander Chayce McDermott and left-hander Jake Eder joined the Dodgers in Pittsburgh but were not activated for Tuesday’s game.
“Right now we’re status quo,” Roberts said before the game. “We brought guys in because a couple guys pitched a lot recently. So in case they weren’t ready, we brought in a couple guys just to protect our downside. From what I hear talking to Bardo , the pitchers are fine.
We’ll let them get through catch play. But I think that it’ll be status quo. ”. But Emmet Sheehan didn’t make it through two innings on Sunday.
Rain delays the next two days, however, could stretch the bullpen if starting pitchers are forced out of the game early. Dodgers at Pirates , Wednesday, 3:40 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM
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