Replacing Will Smith at Catcher
Dodgers star catcher Will Smith hit the IL this week with neck inflammation that could keep him out past the minimum 10 days as Dave Robert also suggested he’d need a ramp up period upon returning, though it wasn’t clear if that meant a full-on rehab stint. The 31-year-old backstop has disappointed this year, sitting 16th among catchers on the Player Rater. He’s hitting .249/.338/.382 with 6 HR, 23 RBI, and 23 R in 201 PA.
I was really excited about him this year, seeing him as an undervalued C1 in 2-catcher setups and a cheaper way to get a good piece of the coveted Dodgers lineup. While I never thought his .296 AVG was coming again this year, I didn’t expect a fallback all the way to 2024’s level (.248), either, but maybe I should have upon further investigation. Obviously the .345 BABIP that drove his AVG last year wasn’t going to sustain but he was a firm .270s BABIP guy for four years before that, posting a .257 AVG in the process. That likely should’ve been my expectation.
At C16 on the Player Rater, he was underwhelming-but-fine in 2-catcher leagues and certainly not killing anyone in 1-catcher setups. Let’s take a look at a few guys who could be worth picking up to replace him and possibly even keeping around when he returns.
THE INTERNAL OPTION
I lost Adley Rutschman for a moment in a 12-team, 2-catcher league but I barely noticed because his replacement was Dalton Rushing who clocked 4 HRs with a .276 AVG in 29 at-bats for me. I had a hard time throwing him back in the pool when Rutschman returned, but Dillon Dingler is my other guy and holding three catchers just didn’t make a ton of sense. Dingler happens to be my other guy in the Main Event where I lost Smith, too, and I’d love to slot Rushing in as he is the best option here as he’s not only a good hitter but on the same team that drew me to Smith in the first place.
Unfortunately for me, Rushing was picked up just last week in that league for $30 unopposed to a team that got tired of Salvador Perez’s .197 AVG in the starting lineup and decided to roster three catchers with Rushing joining Perez and Ivan Herrera. In fact, they are one of four teams holding three catchers. Hey, save some for the fishies! Did y’all ever say that in elementary school when someone was drinking a ton of water from the fountain? I remember someone would always say that if someone took more than three seconds of water. Admittedly, all of those other teams are holding someone unavailable (Drake Baldwin, Ryan Jeffers, and Agustín Ramírez – and there’s no IL/minor league spots in NFBC) right now as opposed to the team that got Rushing having all three Cs available right now.
Rushing will be available in a lot of leagues, though. He’s rostered at 22% across ESPN and Yahoo! according to FantasyPros while he has surged up to 61% at CBS as the most picked up C at the site recently. He sits at C13 on the Player Rater which becomes more impressive when you realize he has the fewest PA among the Top 20 with just 127. The group averaging in 213 PA. Get Rushing where available. That’s easy.
RUSHING TO THE WIRE INSTEAD
But if you’re like me and don’t have Rushing available anywhere, you’ll need to look elsewhere. Gabriel Moreno (40%) and Carter Jensen (30%) are likely available in many 1-C formats and I’d be fine with either. Moreno can be an option is you prefer AVG and Jansen is the power option. Let’s dig deep for the 2-C people out there.
When I was first thinking about this earlier in the week, this next recommendation was more exciting, but I didn’t realize the guy he was replacing was so close to returning. I’m talking about Brandon Valenzuela for Toronto. The switch-hitting rookie is basically Rushing Jr., running up to C18 on the Player Rater in just 145 PA thanks to 7 HRs. I am still interested in him for deeper 2-C leagues, but Alejandro Kirk returns from a thumb injury tonight. He was sidelined just five games into the season and he’ll no doubt be the starter, but I believe Valenzuela can carve out more than just a once-a-week backup catcher role.
Hitting from either side gives the Jays flexibility to start him as they see fit as opposed to teams carrying a short-side platoon catcher who needs the schedule to cooperate with lefties to thrive. The Rushing comps do stop at their similar statlines as Valenzuela doesn’t have nearly the same level of prospect pedigree behind him. Rushing raked all the way through the minors while our Jays prospect list had Valenzuela 28th and labeled him as “glove first”. Brendan Gawlowski did also note his power as the key part of his bat so a 7-HR surge in 46 games isn’t completely out of pocket, but certainly not a baseline, either. I’d say he’s more of a high-teens to low-20s power output as opposed to 30 HR clip he’s on right now (per 600 PA).
Valenzuela remains a viable pickup in 2-catcher formats, but don’t get caught up paying too much for what he’s already done as the playing time has to come way down with Kirk’s return. Maybe they will slow role Kirk a bit as he works his way back and give Valenzuela a few extra starts since he’s hot right now (3 HR, 1.264 OPS in last 25 PA). The beauty of going for a catcher off the waiver is you can usually identify your competition by checking everyone’s catcher status. Teams rarely hold more Cs than needed so if no one else is replacing an injured guy, you could be unopposed in your search. Someone might be replacing an underperformer but even that would likely be identifiable (Perez, Yainer Diaz, J.T. Realmuto for example).
I still have some love for Endy Rodríguez dating back to 2024 before injuries ate up essentially two full seasons. He missed all of 2024 and then played just 18 games last year. He’s back now with another 18 games under his belt so far, posting a decent 109 wRC+ though it’s heavily pushed by his 20% BB rate. He has a homer and two SBs thrown in, too. This could be a great pivot for deep leaguers who are afraid that Valenzuela’s playing time is going to crater. Rodriguez is essentially splitting time with Henry Davis (currently on paternity leave) but playing so much better (Davis has a 48 wRC+) that perhaps he can start absorbing more starts even once Davis is back.
From there, your best option is to cry, at least for the deep leaguers. Losing a catcher in 15-team 2-C formats can be pretty rough and I actually consider myself rather fortunate that Valenzuela and Rodriguez are both available.