The Dodgers already lost Will Smith to injury earlier this season, and now his heir apparent is banged up too. Dalton Rushing, the 25-year-old who'd taken over behind the plate, has been diagnosed with a partial tear of the UCL in his right elbow.
This wasn't some freak collision at the plate or a foul tip gone wrong. Rushing was scratched from the lineup on Sunday with arm irritation, an MRI followed, and the diagnosis came back worse than anyone hoped. Manager Dave Roberts confirmed the tear directly, and the plan now is to shut him down from throwing entirely for at least 4-6 weeks while the Dodgers hold out hope surgery isn't necessary.
For a catcher, a UCL issue is about as bad as it gets short of Tommy John. Throwing is the job. If Rushing does get back on the field this year, the best-case scenario floated so far is a hitting-only role, which for a guy who was supposed to be handling a championship-caliber pitching staff is a brutal fall from where he started the season.
The Dodgers didn't wait around to find out how serious it was before covering themselves. They went out and grabbed two catchers at the trade deadline, with Ben Rortvedt stepping in as the starter and Hunter Feduccia backing him up, both of whom already have ties to the organization. It's a stopgap, not a fix, but it buys time.
The real relief valve is Smith, who's reportedly something like 3 weeks away from a potential return off the 60-day IL. Until then, the Dodgers are patching together a position group that was supposed to be a strength, and fantasy managers who rostered Rushing as a breakout catcher option are now scrambling for a replacement down the stretch.