The Dodgers on Thursday called up Ben Rortvedt from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, giving them three active catchers for the moment after Will Smith took a foul ball off his right hand in Wednesday’s loss to the Pirates.
The full extent of Smith’s injury is not yet known, as he underwent a CT scan on Thursday in Pittsburgh. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters at PNC Park that Smith is unlikely to play this weekend against the Orioles in Baltimore.
The usual play here is hold off an injured-list stint until it’s absolutely necessary, to potentially regain Smith’s services before 10 days would be up. An IL stint can be backdated up to three days, so placing Smith on the injured list Sunday would have the same eligible return date as doing so on Thursday.
Rortvedt was acquired from the Rays along with pitchers Paul Gervase and August Midwest League pitcher of the month Adam Serwinowski for catcher Hunter Feduccia in a three-team deal on July 31 that also included the Reds. Rortvedt, a defense-first catcher who has played parts of four seasons in the majors, was splitting time behind the plate in Oklahoma City with Chuckie Robinson, who also spent a few days on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster this season.
Dalton Rushing starts behind the plate for the Dodgers series finale on Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Freeland, a shortstop by trade, filled in as needed at third base and second base in his first major league stint. After hitting home runs in each of the first two games in San Diego on August 23-24, the switch-hitter has just two singles in his last 26 at-bats with one hit and 15 strikeouts. That brought his batting line down to .190/.292/.310 in 29 games with a 36.1-percent strikeout rate.
Díaz, the former All-Star closer who fell out of favor with the Reds, was acquired by the Dodgers on May 29. In two stints with Los Angeles in the majors this season, the right-hander allowed five runs in nine innings with nine strikeouts and two walks. Díaz had an 8.10 ERA and one save in 11 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City, with 10 strikeouts and eight walks in 10 innings.
