Will Smith has been coping with a bone bruise in his left ankle for nearly 9 months, because the Dodgers catcher revealed to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and different reporters this weekend. Smith harm his ankle whereas sliding into second base to attempt to break up a double play within the Dodgers’ 11-3 win over the Yankees on June 8, and he has been coping with some stage of discomfort ever since, although Smith didn’t go on the injured record and even miss actually any time within the aftermath of the damage. The problem has endured even after an offseason of relaxation, leading to Smith being held out of Spring Coaching video games till final Friday.
Smith mentioned his ankle is simply sore when he runs, and he’s in any other case capable of catch and hit usually. As Ardaya notes, Smith’s post-injury numbers indicate in any other case — Smith hit .292/.361/.498 in 238 plate appearances although June 8, after which solely .213/.301/.382 in 306 PA afterwards, plus a .568 OPS over 65 extra journeys to the plate in the course of the playoffs. Los Angeles GM Brandon Gomes implied that the staff may be extra open to giving Smith additional off-days to maintain him wholesome and extra well-rested generally for what the Dodgers hope is one other deep postseason run.
This may not be essentially the most distinguished Will Smith-related information merchandise to ever come up on an Oscar evening, however let’s transfer onto another notes from across the Nationwide League…
Austin Gomber was scratched from a scheduled begin at present on account of some soreness in his throwing shoulder, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding writes. Testing revealed no structural injury, although Rockies supervisor Bud Black wasn’t positive when Gomber may be again on the mound. Whereas Gomber isn’t a high-velocity pitcher, his fastball was additionally down a tick throughout his first Spring Coaching begin final week, so the matter didn’t solely come up at present. Gomber seen the scenario as “a reset” moderately than something too severe, saying “perhaps I might have tried to push it a bit of bit extra if we had been in a distinct spot on the calendar. However it being so early within the yr, I simply felt like I wished to take a number of days to attempt to get a contact higher and never have one thing that’s like nagging all year long.” The veteran southpaw has been a part of Colorado’s rotation for the final 4 seasons, and he posted a 4.75 ERA in 165 innings in 2024.
A.J. Minter underwent season-ending hip surgical procedure final August, and he hit an enormous checkpoint in his rehab course of by throwing 20-25 pitches throughout a dwell batting apply session. Minter informed MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and different reporters that he “felt good” within the aftermath, and figures he’ll have at the least yet another dwell BP session earlier than collaborating in a correct Spring Coaching recreation setting. Regardless of Minter’s damage, his monitor document as a dependable bullpen arm led to loads of curiosity on the free agent market, and he joined the Mets on a two-year, $22MM deal (with an opt-out after the primary yr). His progress hints that he may have the ability to be a part of New York’s roster on Opening Day, however “we’re going to be good about this. If I’ve to overlook a number of days or a pair weeks, my objective is to assist this staff on the finish of the season.”
