PHILADELPHIA -- A little more than four weeks after sustaining a hairline fracture in his throwing hand, Will Smith is slowly but surely becoming a viable option to start games behind the plate for the Dodgers.
Smith made his first appearance this postseason on Saturday night, pinch-hitting for Ben Rortvedt in the top of the fifth inning and catching the remainder of the Dodgers' 5-3 comeback victory in Game 1 of the NL Division Series at Citizens Bank Park.
After taking a foul tip off his right hand on Sept. 3, Smith played in only one more regular-season game, six days after sustaining what was initially believed to be a bone bruise. He maintained that he felt fine during that game, but the lingering discomfort in the days that followed eventually led to him ending the regular season on the injured list.
On Sunday's off-day, the Dodgers will be able to evaluate whether Smith could feasibly start Game 2 on Monday night -- or if it would make more sense to continue to use him off the bench in the short term. Manager Dave Roberts said he will likely make that decision on Monday afternoon.
"If he says that he feels great, there's no remnants of Game 1," Roberts said, "it might be hard for me not to kind of pencil him in."
Here are some reasons for and against Smith returning to the starting lineup in Game 2:
Pros
Before getting hurt in early September, Smith was having arguably the best offensive season of his career. He hit .296 with a .901 OPS, and his 152 OPS+ was a career high in a full-length season.
In previous years, Smith's production had tended to drop off in the second half. This year, with rookie Dalton Rushing catching approximately twice a week, the Dodgers were able to keep Smith fresh deeper into the season, although he slumped badly in August (.159/.326/.304 slash line).
In Game 1, Smith went 0-for-2 and was hit by a pitch, scoring on Teoscar Hernández's crowd-silencing three-run homer in the seventh inning. Prior to then, he had only faced live pitching a handful of times since going on the IL.
"It was good to be back out there," Smith said afterward. "Kind of get the nerves back out of the way. See some pitching. I had the intense environment and was thrown into the fire right away."
The Dodgers have been able to win three postseason games without Smith in the starting lineup, but there's no arguing against the fact that they're a better team when the All-Star catcher is hitting in the heart of the order. It will come down to whether he feels good enough to potentially catch an entire game.
Before Smith had even made it into Saturday's game, he felt that his injured hand could withstand a full nine innings. Making it through half of a game only reinforced that feeling.
Cons
The Dodgers could finally have a full-strength lineup for the first time in a month with Smith back in the fold, but that term can be relative. They fared quite well in Smith's absence due to the emergence of Rortvedt, who was acquired from the Rays to serve as Minor League depth in a three-team deal ahead of this year's Trade Deadline.
Rortvedt especially handled the rotation well. Since he took over as the primary catcher on Sept. 6, Dodgers starters have posted a combined 1.64 ERA in 24 starts, including the first three postseason games.
The bullpen has been a different story, although those issues predate Rortvedt's time in L.A. In that same span, Dodgers relievers have combined for a 4.98 ERA, a tick above their 4.29 ERA on the year.
Those splits, coupled with the fact that it could be beneficial for Smith to ease back into full games after being out for nearly a month, could lead the Dodgers to approach the situation similarly to how they did in Game 1: Start Rortvedt behind the plate, then pinch-hit Smith at an opportune time and keep him in the game.
"[Smith] hasn't had the normal buildup," Roberts said, "as far as getting his legs back and catching and all that kind of stuff that he normally would, coming back from an injury. Then you layer in the intensity of the postseason, the games are a little bit longer, all that. To have him catch four innings and then to potentially run that same playbook, certainly there's value to that."