Dodgers To Place Will Smith On Injured Listing

The Dodgers will place Will Smith on the 10-day injured checklist tomorrow, supervisor Dave Roberts informed reporters (together with Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register). They’ll choose Chuckie Robinson onto the energetic roster to again up Dalton Speeding. L.A. opened the mandatory 40-man roster spot by releasing Tyler Fitzgerald this afternoon.

Smith has been nursing a stiff neck for the previous few days. He hasn’t performed since Friday. The Dodgers can backdate his IL placement for as much as three days, so he’ll be down till no less than subsequent Wednesday. Roberts downplayed the extent of concern.

It has been a comparatively gradual begin to the season for Smith. He’s hitting .249/.338/.382 with six residence runs in 201 plate appearances. His plate self-discipline and batted ball metrics are principally in keeping with these of earlier seasons, so the Dodgers certainly aren’t apprehensive. Smith stays on the brief checklist of one of the best catchers within the sport even when the slight dip might hold him from a fourth straight All-Star look.

Speeding, who’s hitting .275/.352/.532 on the season, could be the #1 catcher on most different groups. He’s greater than able to holding the first job for what ought to be a short-term absence. Speeding has began 4 straight round Monday’s off day. The Dodgers don’t have one other day without work till subsequent Thursday, so that they wanted to get a wholesome catcher up sooner or later.

That’ll fall to the 31-year-old Robinson, an organizational depth sort. He performed one recreation for the Dodgers final September and has had transient MLB stints with the Reds and White Sox. The Dodgers re-signed him on a minor league deal over the offseason and have saved him at Triple-A Oklahoma Metropolis. Robinson missed the primary month of the season however has come again with a stable .274/.338/.466 begin over 20 video games. He’s a profession .131/.169/.192 hitter on the large league degree.