"The club has largely been without Smith for about a month. He took a foul ball off his throwing hand in early September, suffering a hairline fracture, and hasn't played much since. He has been on the club's postseason roster but hasn't started a game yet. He did enter the first game against Philly as a pinch hitter, striking out twice and getting hit by a pitch."
"That's potentially a huge boost for the Dodgers. Smith had a massive .296/.404/.497 line and 153 wRC+ this year. Rortvedt has managed a massive .500/.571/.667 line in the playoffs this year, but in a tiny sample of just three games. He's obviously not going to maintain that production, especially when considering his .190/.279/.270 line in his regular season career. Even though Smith is getting healthier, he may not be immediately available to resume his previous level of production,"
Dodgers won Game One of the NLDS. Manager Dave Roberts said Will Smith could start Game Three. Smith has been out about a month after a foul ball to his throwing hand caused a hairline fracture in early September. He is on the postseason roster but hasn't started; he pinch-hit in Game One, struck out twice and was hit by a pitch. Ben Rortvedt has been starting in Smith's absence. Rortvedt's playoff numbers come in a tiny sample while his regular-season career line is weak. Roberts confirmed Shohei Ohtani will start Game Five if necessary and won't be available in the bullpen before then.
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]