Why MLB trade deadline will reveal Dodgers’ trust level with Dalton Rushing

PHILADELPHIA — Actions, they say, speak louder than words.

Which is why, for all the public backing the Dodgers have given second-year catcher Dalton Rushing during his nearly two-month stint as the team’s fill-in starter, their true trust level in the former top prospect won’t be known until the Aug. 3 trade deadline has come and gone.

Such is the state of play when it comes to the Dodgers’ catching situation now.

Three-time All-Star Will Smith has been out since the first week of June with a confounding neck injury, one that continues to limit him to minimal activity. While the Dodgers expect him to return this season, his status will remain unclear at best when the deadline arrives in a couple weeks, forcing the front office to decide whether to hedge by getting another backstop.

This is where Rushing comes in.

The 25-year-old slugger started the season swinging a hot bat before succumbing to a hot temper during a subsequent slump at the plate.

Those swings epitomized the growth process and learning curve that the former second-round pick was experiencing.

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It’s also made his cameo as Smith’s replacement in the lineup an important opportunity to prove himself — and prevent the Dodgers from trading for someone else who could supplant him on the depth chart come the playoffs (as happened last year when the team got Ben Rortvedt at the deadline).

“We expect that Will is going to be back,” manager Dave Roberts told the California Post’s Dylan Hernandez this week.

But if not …

“We feel good with Dalton,” he added.

Lately, that faith had seemingly been tested.

A bat-first catcher who has had well-documented growing pains behind the plate, Rushing also found himself in his latest extended slump offensively in recent days, entering play Wednesday mired in an 0-for-19 that had dragged on for more than two weeks.

Usually, such struggles would have led to emotional outbursts in the dugout or obvious signs of frustration in other parts of his game.

But this time, Roberts noted, Rushing “handled it better,” seemingly growing from trials that the manager believes will “help him down the road.”

“There’s a learning curve,” Roberts said. “But this is going to be good for him.”

Indeed, just as Rushing appeared to be reaching a tipping point, he turned around and produced one of his best games of the season in the Dodgers’ rubber-match win over the Phillies, blasting a solo home run in his first at-bat and a go-ahead two-run double in the next.

“It’s pretty obvious I’ve been fighting recently,” Rushing said afterward. “The more you try in this game to get out of a hole, the deeper you dig yourself in a hole. So I think that’s what it’s been recently … So I wouldn’t say it was anything different. I just trusted myself today.”

Rushing, just as importantly, has been building more trust with the team behind the scenes during the last couple months, as well. 

Since taking ownership of his mid-June blow-up with Shohei Ohtani in Minnesota, his pitch-calling and in-game communication with the pitching staff have received improved reviews from Roberts. New rookie backup Eliezer Alfonzo also cited Rushing specifically for being a resource during his transition to the big leagues over the last several weeks, noting how much he has gleaned from his only slightly more experienced teammate.

“Essentially, what I do is just a bonus with the bat,” Rushing said, describing the reframed, catching-first mindset he has adopted during his starting stint. “If I can give us a chance to win every night [while working with the pitchers behind the plate] — essentially, that’s all they ask of me.”

Even though Rushing is only hitting .230 since Smith’s injury (albeit with four home runs, 15 RBIs and an above-average .763 OPS), the Dodgers have indeed continued to rack up W’s, going 19-9 in his last 28 starts.

Because of this, the team hasn’t signaled any urgency to make a major upgrade at catcher before the deadline.

The expectation is that, barring any further setback from Smith in the coming days, they will bypass the top of a relatively strong catching market and put their faith in Rushing to remain their primary insurance plan. 

“By no means do I want to say I wished for this opportunity,” Rushing said. “But I was making sure if it was given, that I was going to do my best to show them that I could play, show them I’m going to be in this league and play down here for as long as I possibly can.”