{"id":72188,"date":"2025-06-22T11:03:27","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T11:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=72188"},"modified":"2025-06-22T11:03:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T11:03:27","slug":"breaking-dodgers-will-smith-eyes-3rd-all-star-nod-amid-cautious-workload","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=72188","title":{"rendered":"Breaking: Dodgers\u2019 Will Smith eyes 3rd All-Star nod amid cautious workload"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Smith is having a career year at the plate while the Dodgers limit his starts to avoid another second-half decline<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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\"The<\/div>
The Dodgers\u2019 Will Smith watches the flight of the walk-off home run he hit off of San Diego Padres relief pitcher Robert Suarez, left, during the ninth inning on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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LOS ANGELES \u2014 Like a dieter minding their calories, the Dodgers have to curb their appetite.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt always feels good to write his name in the lineup,\u201d Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of catcher Will Smith.<\/em><\/p>\n

On his way to a third consecutive All-Star selection,\u00a0Smith is batting .325 with a National League-high .424 on-base percentage to go with a .949 OPS.\u00a0No one in baseball has been better with runners in scoring position than Smith, who is 26 for 60 (.433) with 36 RBIs in those situations.<\/p>\n

But at least twice a week, Roberts has to deny the urge to put Smith in the lineup. It\u2019s a commitment the Dodgers made when they promoted top prospect\u00a0Dalton Rushing from the minors, giving them a potentially better offensive option as Smith\u2019s backup than\u00a0veteran Austin Barnes.<\/p>\n

Rushing has struggled to bring his offense to the major-league level, batting .209 going into Saturday\u2019s game. But the idea is to give Smith more consistent downtime in hopes of avoiding\u00a0the kind of second-half dropoff that has characterized his recent seasons. Roberts thinks it is working so far and is optimistic about the long-term benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty confident, and I just got to make sure I remain steadfast in kind of using Dalton and giving Will days,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s been some injuries that he\u2019s dealt with, but I do think that if we can kind of keep his legs in line, sharp and fresh, I think this \u2013 the performance is sustainable.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The mental and physical demands of the position\u00a0have \u201cabsolutely\u201d increased in recent years\u00a0\u2013 \u201cit\u2019s a different age\u201d from the days when catchers would start 140 games or more, Roberts said. No catcher in the majors started more than 125 games last season.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s workload increased last year when Shohei Ohtani arrived, and there was no longer a DH spot to give Smith a partial day off.<\/p>\n

He started a career-high 117 games at catcher last year (fifth in the majors) \u2013 and hit .206 with a .626 OPS after the All-Star break.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does take a toll,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cWill is strong, but it\u2019s not a Salvador Perez engine, right? So you have to just be mindful.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Roberts has talked about adjustments Smith has made in his workouts over the past year that have benefited him this year and should keep him stronger in the second half.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s fresh, he\u2019s healthy,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cHe\u2019s obviously getting to a lot of balls, specifically the heater that he wasn\u2019t in the last couple years, certainly at the end of both seasons. I think he\u2019s just, he\u2019s healthy, he\u2019s a perennial All-Star.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNot that he lacked for confidence, but he\u2019s just, he\u2019s just really, you know, body and mind, in a good spot.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

REHAB SUNDAY<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Right-handers\u00a0Tyler Glasnow\u00a0and Luis Garcia will start minor-league injury rehabilitation assignments on Sunday. Glasnow is scheduled to pitch for Triple-A Oklahoma City while Garcia will join Class-A Rancho Cucamonga.<\/p>\n

Roberts has said he expects Glasnow to make at least three rehab starts. But he indicated the right-hander does not have to be fully built up before rejoining the starting rotation. The Dodgers currently have left-hander Justin Wrobleski and right-hander Matt Sauer, who could supplement Glasnow with multiple innings in relief.<\/p>\n

Glasnow\u00a0has been out since April 27\u00a0with shoulder discomfort and some lower back tightness, issues that he has attributed to changes in his delivery that he made, hoping to avoid the elbow pain that plagued him last season.<\/p>\n

Garcia has been out since May 27 when he strained a groin muscle. The 38-year-old right-hander was one of the most frequently used relievers in the Dodgers\u2019 bullpen before that. In 26 appearances before going on the Injured List, he had a 4.50 ERA.<\/p>\n

NIGHT OFF<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Roberts was suspended one game for his part in the\u00a0benches-clearing incident\u00a0between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres on Thursday night. He served his suspension on Friday night, sitting out the game against the Washington Nationals and watching from home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can see how you guys kind of can wonder what\u2019s going to happen next, or what decision a manager is going to potentially make,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cSo I got to experience that, which was a little unsettling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bench coach Danny Lehmann managed the team to a 6-5 victory over the Nationals\u00a0and Roberts said there was no second-guessing any of Lehmann\u2019s moves by him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what? We were kind of in lockstep. I liked what he did,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n

ALSO<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki resumed\u00a0his throwing program\u00a0this week and has reported no issues with his shoulder while playing light catch from 60 feet so far. Sasaki was moved to the 60-day injured list this week and is not eligible to return until August. \u201cHe\u2019s doing his progression, which is good,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n

UP NEXT<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Nationals (RHP Michael Soroka, 3-5, 5.06 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Shohei Ohtani, 0-0, 9.00 ERA), Sunday, 1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smith is having a career year at the plate while the Dodgers limit his starts to avoid another second-half decline The Dodgers\u2019 Will Smith watches the flight… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nBreaking: Dodgers\u2019 Will Smith eyes 3rd All-Star nod amid cautious workload - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=72188\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Breaking: Dodgers\u2019 Will Smith eyes 3rd All-Star nod amid cautious workload - 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