September call-up day usually means a handful of extra bench arms and a September 1 curiosity or two. For the Dodgers it meant six separate moves at once, and the headline is that their All-Star catcher is finally back. Will Smith was scratched with neck inflammation back on June 6, expected to miss one game, and instead disappeared for almost 3 months with what turned into disc inflammation and repeated setbacks. He's now activated off the 60-day IL after going 4-for-16 with a homer on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Lots of different parts, including some that were communicated otherwise over the weekend. Will Smith, Dalton Rushing and Justin Wrobleski have been activated off the IL. Alex Freeland is up with rosters expanding. Alek Thomas was optioned, Ben Rortvedt DFA’d. #Dodgers
That single tweet from Katie Woo covers almost the entire transaction sheet: Smith, Dalton Rushing and Justin Wrobleski activated off the IL, Alex Freeland called up with rosters expanding, Alek Thomas optioned out, and Ben Rortvedt designated for assignment. Rortvedt, who hit.189/.275/.266 for his career and went 5-for-28 in his brief run this season, is now hoping to clear waivers and stick around at Oklahoma City rather than leave the organization outright.
Rushing's return is the more complicated story. He's back exactly a month after landing on the IL with a slightly torn UCL in his throwing elbow, but he hasn't been cleared to throw and, per Dave Roberts, may not catch again this season. That doesn't make him a wasted roster spot — it makes him the left-handed bat off the bench Roberts had been openly hunting for over the weekend.
Dave Roberts had said the team would be looking to add a left-handed bench bat. That will be Rushing. Smith and Hunter Feduccia will catch. Freeland gives them another lefty that can play second with Tommy Edman the likeliest to slot to CF. #Dodgers
With Rushing likely a pinch-hitter rather than a backstop the rest of the way, catching duties fall to Smith and Hunter Feduccia. Freeland's call-up adds another lefty bat who can also cover second base, giving Roberts more late-inning flexibility than he's had in weeks. And with Alek Thomas optioned out of the picture, Tommy Edman becomes the likeliest option to slide over to center field down the stretch — a role he's already had reps in this year after opening the season on the shelf following ankle surgery.
Dodgers have activated both Will Smith and Dalton Rushing
None of this happens in a vacuum. Smith was hitting just.249 with a.720 OPS in 52 games before the injury, so this isn't purely a health story — it's a Dodgers lineup trying to find its best version with a month left before October. Wrobleski's activation matters too: after forearm inflammation sidelined him following an August 16 outing, Roberts said he now sees him as a 2-to-3-inning relief piece rather than a starter, which quietly beefs up a bullpen that'll matter just as much as the lineup once the games start counting for real.
Taken together, it's the Dodgers using their expanded September roster the way it's supposed to be used — restocking a taxed catching corps, adding a versatile bat, and repositioning pieces like Edman for October rather than just padding numbers. The postseason picture gets clearer by the day, and getting Smith back in time to ramp up is the single biggest development in it.