The Los Angeles Dodgers were without their hottest hitter for Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs, with Will Smith not in the lineup as a precautionary measure.
While the Dodgers have made an effort to be extra mindful of Smith’s workload to begin this season, it was not another scheduled off day.
Smith is dealing with some lingering soreness after jamming his left wrist while making a play in the sixth inning on Tuesday’s night. Smith was able to finish the rest of the game without issue, even hitting an RBI double the next inning.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained the team sought to give Smith an extra day of rest before their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, via SportsNet LA:
“On that play at the plate last night, as he made the tag, his wrist turned in, so there’s some residual soreness. So we just felt it made sense to give him today and obviously tomorrow being an off day, and see where it goes from there.”
Although Roberts didn’t express much concern over Smith’s injury, he acknowledged there’s a possibility it will require some medical testing:
“Pain tolerance right now. We might do some imaging, maybe when we get home. I’m not sure.”
Without Smith available, the Dodgers again turned to Austin Barnes behind the plate, and he had two hits in their 7-6 loss. Barnes hit his right hand on a bat while throwing to third base late in the game, but he did not need to come out.
If Smith needs to go on the 10-day injured list, the Dodgers could recall Hunter Feduccia from Triple-A Oklahoma City or potentially give top prospect Dalton Rushing an opportunity to make his MLB debut.
Will Smith’s stats
Smith is off to a strong start in 2025 after having a career-worse year in multiple categories last season. He is batting .350/.453/.567 with four doubles, three home runs and 15 RBI in 60 at-bats. Smith has particularly excelled with runners in scoring position, hitting .733/.684/1.067 with 13 RBI in 19 such plate appearances.
Roberts called him among the team’s best options when hitting with runners on base.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!