PITTSBURGH –– After missing four-straight games with a neck issue, catcher Will Smith was finally placed on the 10-day injured list by the Dodgers on Thursday, but is hopeful of returning when he is eligible next weekend.
Smith said he was diagnosed with an inflamed disc in his neck, but is planning to continue hitting and throwing in the coming days.
He will be able to be activated as soon as June 19 (his IL stint was backdated to Monday), when the Dodgers open a series against the Baltimore Orioles.
“It’s been a long few days,” said Smith, who woke up with neck pain one day during the team’s road trip in Arizona last week. “Played on it a couple days, played on it at home, and then just that third or fourth day, I kind of felt it was just getting a lot worse. Couldn’t play that day. It’s one of the things we thought was going to get a little better in a couple days [but is] just taking a little bit longer.”
Smith said he is feeling better now, but is still not 100%. The pain is on the right side of his neck, and impacts most when he hits.
“With a tight neck, it’s harder to see the pitches and stuff,” he said. “The first day I felt I hit a double, so like, it’s part of it. But yeah, just kind of got to a place where I couldn’t go out there and help the team win.”
Smith had not been playing to his standards as a three-time All-Star even before the next injury this year, batting just .249 with six home runs, 23 RBIs and a .720 OPS.
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Manager Dave Roberts said Smith’s injury was still “playable” right now, but that the team didn’t want his injury getting worse.
“I just don’t think it’s smart to run Will out there just because he’s Will Smith and he’ll do it,” Roberts said. “We gotta take care of his health for this year. So I don’t think it’s a serious thing, but I do think that us taking care of it right now on the front end will pay benefits.”
In the meantime, the Dodgers will use Dalton Rushing as their starting catcher, and called up Chuckie Robinson from triple-A Oklahoma City to serve as the backup.