Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
Will Smith has been unable to contribute to the Los Angeles Dodgers for the last six weeks and counting due to a neck injury.
The 31-year-old hasn’t made much progress in his recovery and was shut down from baseball activities over the All-Star break with continued neck stiffness.
The Dodgers still expect Smith to return before the end of the season, but aren’t sure when that may be, via Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
Smith is expected back before the end of the season, but there are few specifics known about his timeline at this point. Until he’s in a place where he can make concrete progress, it’s difficult to map out a rehab progression.
“That comes with consecutive days of feeling better,” Roberts said. “But it’s going to be a slow ramp-up. Honestly, I don’t know what that really looks like. That’s hard to say.”
Smith was transferred to the 60-day injured list on Monday, though the procedural move had no impact on when he will return. But from a technicality standpoint, the earliest Smith can now be activated is Friday, Aug. 7. Given Roberts’ remarks, Smith wasn’t going to be reinstated before the middle of August anyhow.
He began dealing with the neck issue while the Dodgers were in Arizona at the beginning of June. Smith tried to play through the pain for multiple games, but did not see any improvement and was eventually placed on the 15-day injured list.
Smith received a cortisone injection to treat the inflammation in late June, and by the start of July, began throwing and hitting again. Despite starting some of the rehab steps, the Dodgers were just keeping Smith active rather than ramping him up.
While mid-August is considered the earliest point of a potential return, any more setbacks could delay that to September or later. Smith will have to continue taking at-bats in the cages, running the bases and doing catcher drills before starting a rehab assignment.
Once Smith goes out on a rehab assignment, it will likely be lengthy stint as he needs to build up his stamina in order to catch a full nine innings and receive enough live at-bats to get his timing and swing back.
Dodgers’ catching situation without Will Smith
With Smith sidelined, the Dodgers have been relying on Dalton Rushing as their starting catcher. While he has done a solid job filling in, L.A.’s overall catching depth is not as strong as it was with Smith active.
The Dodgers may still be unlikely to make a move for a catcher at the trade deadline.
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