Will Smith is finally back for the Dodgers, activated off the 60-day injured list on Tuesday after almost three months on the shelf with neck inflammation. Missing nearly half a season without a three-time All-Star, a guy who’s been a middle-of-the-lineup staple on three championship teams in Los Angeles? That’s brutal. Getting Smith back, playing anywhere near his usual self, is going to be a huge shot in the arm for a Dodgers squad that’s been swinging cold for the last two months. But before we get too hyped, we gotta look at what went down behind the plate in August, because things got wild.
The Dodgers’ Catching Rollercoaster
Let’s just say August was a trip. Dalton Rushing, who’d been holding down the fort with starter-level duties for two months, only played one game in August before he got hit with a partially-torn UCL. Talk about a nightmare scenario, right? The Dodgers had to scramble. What did they do? They went old school, trading for not one, but two familiar faces at the deadline: Hunter Feduccia and Ben Rortvedt. Both dudes were activated on August 4, and let me tell you, they covered every single inning of the last 24 games. Feduccia got 15 starts and logged 129 innings, while Rortvedt started nine times and put in 84 1/3 innings. In 11 of those 24 games, both catchers were actually behind the plate, usually when a pinch-hitter led to a late-game swap. And yeah, there was that one wild game on August 18 at Coors Field where Feduccia legit threw up behind the plate and Rortvedt had to take over. You can’t make this stuff up!
Surprise Contributions from the Stop-Gaps
So, how’d these two fill-ins do? Offensively, Rortvedt chipped in with five singles in 27 at-bats, drove in a run, and added a sacrifice. That’s pretty much what the Dodgers were getting from guys like Eliezer Alfonzo and Chuckie Robinson earlier on. Nothing flashy, but he kept things moving. But Feduccia, man, he found some actual success at the plate. We’re talking a .262 batting average, a .354 on-base percentage, and a .381 slugging percentage. He mashed a home run, hit two doubles, drew six walks, and posted a 109 wRC+ in 49 plate appearances. You take that kind of production from your catcher any day of the week, especially when he’s a deadline pickup filling a massive hole!
Beyond the bat, what Feduccia and Rortvedt really did was stabilize the actual catching: the defense and game calling. Rushing’s defensive metrics weren’t great, with a -3 Fielding Run Value from Baseball Savant and a -3.7 Catching Defense Added from Baseball Prospectus. Feduccia and Rortvedt were a marked improvement, with Feduccia at -2 (FRV) and -0.1 (CDA), and Rortvedt at -1 (FRV) and -0.2 (CDA). But where these two truly shined? ABS challenges. Feduccia was successful on a ridiculous 12 of 19 challenges, a 63.2 percent success rate. Rortvedt wasn’t far behind, getting five out of eight correct for 62.5 percent. That’s clutch under pressure!
With Smith finally back in the lineup on Tuesday, the Dodgers can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Feduccia and Rortvedt did more than just hold down the fort; they showed some serious grit and surprised a lot of people with their contributions in a truly wild August.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
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