Dodgers Reveal Reason for Will Smith Benching
Dalton Rushing is starting in Will Smith's place in the Los Angeles Dodgers' Monday afternoon game at the Toronto Blue Jays.
It’s not often a World Series hero is benched for the opening game of the championship rematch, but that’s the position Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith is in. Dalton Rushing is starting in Smith’s place in the Monday afternoon game at the Toronto Blue Jays, but the decision to bench him wasn’t one made for any sort of performance or disciplinary reason. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dodgers Nation (@dodgersnation) It’s actually being done just to save Smith for later, manager Dave Roberts said.
Mar 31, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (16) scores a run against the Cleveland Guardians during the fourth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images “Dave Roberts said that he wants Smith to catch Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani later in the series, which is why he’s out of the lineup tonight,” MLB.
com’s Sonja Chen reports . This marks the second straight game Rushing will start over Smith, Chen added. It’s likely that Rushing’s strong performance thus far this season also is playing a role.
He hit a two-run home run Sunday against the Washington Nationals to kick off a comeback rally. Why is Dalton Rushing Performing Better This Season? Roberts credits Rushing’s improvements to mental, not physical, adjustments.