After there was optimism that Will Smith would be returning despite his injury, the Los Angeles Dodgers recently put him on the 10-day injured list because of a bruised right hand, according to ESPN. It's the first time that he's been on IL this season.
There was hope that Smith would avoid IL, especially after the comments made by manager Dave Roberts about his recovery.
“It's still there. It doesn't feel great,” Roberts said via Valentina Martinez via Dodgers Nation. “It's getting better each day, but still not 100 percent.
“I think after his first game back [Tuesday] and just feeling with all the tests we've done to come up negative and the swelling has dissipated… we thought we'd be in a better spot. But at least there's improvement each day.”
IL didn't seem like an option, but they may have been trying to patiently see how much time Smith truly needed to get back to 100%.
“But there is talk as far as potential downside, how long we can wait to see if he can potentially get back to playing,” Roberts added.
Nonetheless, it doesn't look like this is too much of an injury to worry about for Smith and the Dodgers, and he should be back in time for the postseason. The Dodgers are currently 83-65 and are in first place in the NL East, and they want to stay in front of the San Diego Padres, who are just 2.5 games behind them.
Smith has been a key part of the Dodgers' success not just this season, but the past three seasons as well. In the past three seasons, he's batting .296 with 17 homers, 61 RBIs, and a .901 OPS in 110 games. Hopefully, Smith doesn't lose any of his rhythm while he's on IL, and the team can pick up where he left off for the games that he will miss during this stretch.
