The casualty list keeps growing — and somehow the most reliable arm in this rotation is a guy nobody had on the marquee in March. If you're just joining us: Will Smith's neck stiffness started as day-to-day monitoring after he last played June 5, then landed him on the IL, retroactive to June 8. With Smith down, Dalton Rushing and Chuckie Robinson have been splitting time behind the plate. At first, there was at least a chance he could be back on the next homestand. This is Dodgers Daily — Glasnow, Smith, Tucker, all dinged up with the Padres on deck. But there's good news buried in the wreckage, and we're getting to all of it. Let's start with the part of this that actually went the wrong way — Roberts on Smith. Will Smith neck stiffness isn't over. Follow us wherever you're listening, and the next chapter comes to you. Athlon Sports writes:
On Wednesday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts talked to the media about Smith’s injury timeline. He said that Smith still has not resumed baseball activities. This was reported by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic in a post on X. At this rate the catcher will likely need a rehab assignment after resuming activity, which would add more time onto his IL stay. Smith will not return for the rest of the team’s road trip at the very least.
So the Will Smith picture got worse, not better. He's now missed 17 straight since June 5, and per Roberts via Fabian Ardaya, he still hasn't resumed baseball activities. Which matters because the 'possible homestand return' optimism is gone. No baseball activity yet means a rehab assignment first — so we're tacking more days onto the IL clock, not fewer. And the next home game? July 2. Against the Padres. So the franchise catcher might still be unavailable when San Diego rolls in. Rushing's actually held it together — .723 OPS since June 6, five extra-base hits. That's the one thing keeping this from being a full-blown panic line for me. A .720 OPS is also roughly what Smith was giving you before the neck flared up, Joey. The bat we're missing wasn't the All-Star bat this year. This one's from NBC Sports:
Nothing has changed for Glasnow as he remains highly unlikely to return to the Dodgers rotation until some point in August considering how much time he’ll need to build up his throwing progression. There should be a more definitive return timeline once he’s cleared to resume throwing. The 32-year-old has been out with a lingering back issue since early May.
Still completely shut down. Not throwing, not building up — nothing. Glasnow's been off a mound since early May, and NBC's now saying don't even think about him before August. And this is the guy who was supposed to be the front of the rotation. We just hit the Will Smith neck thing — now stack this on top of it. August at the earliest. And the key phrase in there is 'highly unlikely,' which means nobody's even putting a real date on it yet — he hasn't been cleared to resume the throwing progression. So when you hear 'back issue since early May,' do the math. That's nearly three months before he picks up a baseball with intent. This was never a quick one. Inside The Dodgers, with Matt Levine:
The four-time All-Star didn't play on Tuesday and is also set to miss Wednesday's finale against the Twins. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the team wanted Tucker to rest while preparing to come back for the weekend series with San Diego. “I think most likely we’ll probably stay away from him this series with hopes of getting him back in the lineup on Friday,” Roberts said.
So now it's Tucker. Back spasms, left the Twins opener Monday, didn't play Tuesday, out Wednesday — and Roberts is basically telling us he's gone the whole series. Read the actual quote, Joey. Roberts said 'most likely we'll probably stay away from him this series with hopes of getting him back in the lineup on Friday.' That's a hedge wrapped in a hedge. Friday is the Padres opener, Kirk! Our biggest series of the month and the four-time All-Star is a maybe. After Glasnow shut down and Smith on the IL — that's three at once. And here's the box Roberts left himself: he wants Tucker to swing the bat and do 'some type of activity' before the off day. If that doesn't happen, he said — quote — 'a tough decision on Friday.' So circle Friday as a checkpoint, not some guaranteed return. A tough decision. Against San Diego. Love that for us. One thing nobody's saying out loud — Tucker's been slumping all year as a Dodger. A few quiet days against the Padres might not be the worst thing for his swing. From Aaron Coloma at Dodgers Nation:
According to The Athletic’s Katie Woo, Hernandez will play four or five games in Triple-A before hopefully returning to the team before the end of the June. “Teoscar Hernández will start a rehab assignment with Triple A OKC (in Reno) starting Tuesday,” Woo wrote on X. “Plan is for him to play 4-5 games. If all goes well, he could be activated before the series against the A’s at the end of the month.”
Okay, finally some good news in the body count — Teoscar, second at-bat in his first Triple-A game since 2019, two-run homer to left. First swing that mattered, gone. First Triple-A look since 2019. The man hasn't seen that level since before the pandemic, and he's down there parking it in Reno like nothing happened. And per Katie Woo, it's four or five games, then he could be back before the A's series at the end of the month. With Smith on the IL and Glasnow shut down, one piece of the cavalry is actually moving. That's the piece I'd lean on. He was hitting .325 in May with an .882 OPS before the hamstring popped — this isn't a guy hoping to find it again. He left off hot and he picked up hot. From Rowan Kavner at FOX Sports:
The Dodgers have been without Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow since early May, yet they still have the lowest starters’ ERA and the best record in Major League Baseball. The emergence of Wrobleski, an 11th-round pick who exemplifies the Dodgers’ ability not only to outspend but also to outdraft and outdevelop most of the competition, has played an important role in the success.
After a whole rundown of guys who aren't throwing off a mound, here's one who actually is. Rowan Kavner at FOX Sports on Justin Wrobleski — they're calling him 'The Shark,' and apparently the guy charts his own starts in Excel. Excel! The man went to Clemson for engineering and now he's grading himself one-to-five on how he felt that day. I love it. And he's not just polishing vanity stats — he told Kavner he doesn't care about launch angle. He cares about getting ahead in counts, limiting damage, the stuff he can actually control. Which is exactly why I'll take him right now. Glasnow's shut down, Smith's on the IL, Tucker might miss the Padres opener — and the most reliable arm in this rotation is a spreadsheet guy nobody was counting on. Got a Dodgers question, a story idea, or a correction we need to hear? Send it our way at dodgersdailyfancast at lantern podcasts dot com. We want this show to reflect what fans are actually talking about.
Here's what we're watching next: the Dodgers' next home game is July 2 against the Padres, the first home checkpoint after Smith was ruled out for the rest of the road trip. Friday's Padres opener is also Dave Roberts' decision point for Kyle Tucker. And Teoscar Hernández has four or five Triple-A games on the schedule, with activation possible before the A's series at the end of June.
Links to every story we mentioned are in the show notes, so tap through on anything you want to read more closely. That's Dodgers Daily Podcast for today. This is a Lantern Podcast.