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With Will Smith now officially on the injured list due to neck stiffness, the Dodgers have a plan for how they’ll handle the position in his absence. Smith told reporters he’s optimistic his neck will be feeling better next week, which is an encouraging sign — but until he’s back, Dave Roberts laid out how the catching situation will be managed, per the LA Times staff.

Smith has been one of the most productive catchers in baseball since establishing himself as the Dodgers’ everyday backstop. He’s a switch-hitter with legitimate pop from both sides of the plate, and his pitch framing has improved steadily over the years. Missing him — even for a short stretch — creates a real hole in the middle of the lineup. The fact that he’s already expressing optimism about a quick return suggests this isn’t something the team views as a long-term concern, but neck injuries can be tricky. You don’t want to rush a guy back when the issue involves that part of the body.

James Robinson was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City to fill Smith’s roster spot, and he figures to get the bulk of the work behind the plate during this stretch. Robinson has been solid in the minors and earned this opportunity, but catching at the major league level is a different animal entirely. The pitching staff needs continuity and trust with whoever is back there, and building that rapport quickly matters — especially with our rotation the way it is right now.

Roberts has historically been thoughtful about how he deploys his catchers, and this situation shouldn’t be any different. The Dodgers aren’t going to panic over a short IL stint from Smith. They have enough depth to weather this, and Robinson getting big league reps could pay dividends later in the season if (and when) the Dodgers need a reliable backup down the stretch or in October. That’s the kind of organizational depth that separates contenders from pretenders.

The key detail here is the timeline. If Smith is right about feeling better next week, we could be looking at a minimum-length IL stay — which is about as good an outcome as you can hope for when your starting catcher goes down. I’d expect the Dodgers to be cautious regardless. There’s no reason to push Smith back before he’s fully right, not in June, not with a 162-game season to manage. For now, Robinson gets his shot, the lineup adjusts, and we move forward. This is a bump in the road, not a crisis.

Source(s): Staff (LA Times) | First reported: June 11, 2026 10:11 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers