“That happens every now and then, goes away in a day,” Smith said. “It just didn’t this time.”
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So a little over a week later, the three-time All-Star catcher landed on the injured list with what he referred to as “an inflamed disc” after missing four games through Wednesday.
“It’s been a long few days,” Smith said of hoping the issue would subside more quickly. “It happened in Arizona, played on it a couple days, played on it at home (last Friday), and then just that third or fourth day, I kind of felt it was just getting a lot worse. Couldn’t play that day (he was scratched from the lineup on Saturday).
“It’s one of those things we thought was going to get a little better in a couple days. It’s just taking a little bit longer.”
Smith said the stiffness is located on the right side of his neck and primarily affects him when he tries to hit.
“It’s harder to see the pitchers and stuff,” Smith said. “The first day I felt it I hit a double, so like, it’s part of it. But yeah, just kind of got to a place where I couldn’t go out there and help the team win.”
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Dalton Rushing has started the past five games through Thursday. Chuckie Robinson was promoted from Triple-A to back him up. Robinson will start Friday in Chicago against the White Sox and pair with Roki Sasaki then Rushing will start the following three games.
The IL move for Smith was back-dated three days (the maximum allowed) so he will be eligible to return next weekend.
“Talking to Will, talking to the trainers, it was just not wanting it to go in reverse,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s certainly probably playable if we needed. But at what cost? Right now, I just don’t think it’s smart to run Will out there just because he’s Will Smith and he’ll do it. We gotta take care of his health for this year.
“I don’t think it’s a serious thing, but I do think that us taking care of it right now on the front end will pay benefits.”
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More to come on this story.