Could Smith's neck injury change Dodgers' Trade Deadline plans?

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What may have begun as a bad night of sleep has sidelined Will Smith for a month and a half -- and counting.

The Dodgers' starting catcher last appeared in a game on June 5, one day before he was scratched from the starting lineup due to neck stiffness. The team was initially optimistic, believing that Smith could be back in the lineup the next day. When that wasn't the case, the hope was that he'd return to action during the following series in Pittsburgh. At last, Smith was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 11 with some thought that it would be a minimum-length stint.

Smith remains on the IL to open the second half, and he is not particularly close to being activated. The Dodgers don't see him returning any earlier than mid-August.

The Dodgers shut Smith down from baseball activities during the All-Star break, hoping that a week-long break could help his neck fully recover before resuming his ramp-up. Smith had previously been participating in some activities, including hitting in the cage, but his neck wasn't recovering well.

"We felt that if he’s inactive, it gives it a good chance to get all the inflammation out, the soreness out, the pain, increase flexibility, all of it," manager Dave Roberts said over the weekend. "Then he has a fighting chance to work his way back. Trying to do everything -- even at a lesser dosage -- just wasn’t feasible."

The Dodgers' understanding of the injury is that Smith has an inflamed disc in his neck. He received an injection a couple weeks after sustaining the injury, but it did not provide sufficient relief. The team believes that with rest, Smith's neck will be able to improve enough that his condition won't regress once he restarts baseball activities.

Smith is expected back before the end of the season, but there are few specifics known about his timeline at this point. Until he's in a place where he can make concrete progress, it's difficult to map out a rehab progression.

"That comes with consecutive days of feeling better," Roberts said. "But it’s going to be a slow ramp-up. Honestly, I don’t know what that really looks like. That’s hard to say."

While the Dodgers have missed Smith during his absence, his prolonged IL stint has not necessarily created a glaring need at catcher ahead of the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline.

Second-year backstop Dalton Rushing has done a solid job filling in for Smith, both at the plate and behind it, although he's been a little streaky offensively. Rushing entered Sunday with a 120 wRC+, the sixth-best mark among MLB catchers with at least 200 plate appearances. Smith had a 102 wRC+ before his injury, a tick above league average but lower than expected.

Rushing has performed to the extent that acquiring a starting catcher option would be an unlikely move for the Dodgers, but they could stand to improve their depth. At the time of Smith's injury, he and Rushing were the only catchers on the 40-man roster. In the aftermath, L.A. has selected Chuckie Robinson (who has since been outrighted to Triple-A) and Eliezer Alfonzo as backups to Rushing.

With Smith expected to return at some point, the Dodgers can afford to get by with their current catching group, or try to find a way to improve on the margins during Deadline season. But there's no denying that the floor for their catchers is lower than it was when Smith was healthy.