Dodgers’ Dave Roberts Announces Unfortunate Will Smith News Before MLB Playoffs

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Valdez | Last updated Sep 5, 2025 6:13 PM ET

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in first place in the NL West, but injury luck is not the reason why. They have one of the most extensive injury lists in the league, and even some of their key players on the active roster aren't fully healthy.

One of those is catcher Will Smith, who is ninth in baseball with a .296 batting average and a .902 OPS. The 30-year-old has missed 31 out of 140 games thus far, and he slashed just .159/.326/.304 in August after slashing .349/.461/.587 in July. The Dodgers could use him at his best, as they're just two games ahead of the San Diego Padres entering Friday's bout with the Baltimore Orioles.

However, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts made an unfortunate announcement about Smith pregame, via The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya.

"Dave Roberts specified that Will Smith is dealing with a bone bruise in his right hand, and conceded that the catcher will likely have to manage it the rest of the season," he reported. This follows Thursday night's report that Smith likely won't play this weekend, but also likely won't go on the IL following his CT scan, via Ardaya.

While avoiding an IL stint is always good news, the fact that Smith will have an injured throwing hand for the rest of the year is especially unfortunate for a catcher. That could affect his ability to throw baserunners out, and it could be a painful distraction on both sides of the ball.

Still, a compromised Smith is likely an upgrade over the Dodgers' backup catchers. Dalton Rushing is slashing just .193/.258/.303 with three homers and 21 RBIs over 44 games, while Ben Rortvedt is slashing .094/.183/.109 with six RBIs in 27 games.

Smith's ailment is simply one more challenge that the defending champions must deal with as they try to reach the mountaintop again.

Dave Roberts specified that Will Smith is dealing with a bone bruise in his right hand, and conceded that the catcher will likely have to manage it the rest of the season.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) September 5, 2025

Dodgers Waiting On More Players to Return

Despite the Smith news, Los Angeles still has other exciting developments in the injury department. The club activated infielder/outfielder Hyeseong Kim and right-handed Michael Kopech off the IL on Monday, while third baseman Max Muncy, left-handed pitcher Alex Vesia, and infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman are expected to return after the weekend, via MLB.com.

That should give the Dodgers a timely boost, as Muncy is slashing .258/.389/.491 with 17 homers and 64 RBIs over 89 games, while Vesia has a 2.75 ERA over 59 outings. Additionally, Edman has 12 homers and 44 RBIs across 86 contests.

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani will start on the mound for Los Angeles against Baltimore right-hander Dean Kremer on Friday night.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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