Dodgers insider proposes most obvious trade of all time after Ohtani-Rushing drama

Will Smith's timeline to return from neck inflammation just keeps getting longer and longer, and it's turning up the heat on Dalton Rushing. With Smith now out until after the All-Star break, Rushing and Eliezer Alfonzo Jr. have elevated roles behind the dish.

Normally, this wouldn't be a bad thing. A former No. 1 prospect stuck behind a contracted primary catcher getting more opportunities to play should never be a bad thing. But Rushing has done very little in Smith's absence to reassure fans that Dodgers pitchers are in good hands.

Rushing has apologized many times over for his behavior last time he caught Shohei Ohtani. He's been hot at the plate ever since his antics went viral (again). But we'll believe in improvements only when (if) we go the rest of the season without incident.

Dodgers of all kinds have come out of the woodwork to defend Rushing — everyone from Dave Roberts to Freddie Freeman to Miguel Rojas to Max Muncy — but all of the bad PR has emphasized how dire the catching situation is.

Even if the Dodgers wanted to put a more experienced catcher behind the plate, they couldn't. The options within the organzation aren't there.

So it led Jack Harris of the California Post to propose a trade Dodgers fans have already been begging for. Let's get Ben Rortvedt back in Dodger blue.

Dodgers insider proposes LA makes no-brainer trade for Ben Rortvedt

Some good news for Smith: Roberts said he hit in a cage on Thursday and began a throwing progression. That still puts him at least a couple weeks off of a return.

Rortvedt has been hanging out with the Mets' Triple-A team since Opening Day. He's spent some time on-and-off the IL but has been healthy since mid-June. Getting him back would be easy enough — cash considerations, if that — and Rortvedt is already familiar with almost everyone on this pitching staff. Blake Snell had only good things to say about Rortvedt during their brief stint as a battery last year.

If the Dodgers got him back, he wouldn't stick around for long. He's long been out of options and would have to be DFA'd as soon as Smith is back. But he would also be a better backup than Robinson/Alfonzo, and would've been very easy to slot in in place of Rushing if the Dodgers had put him in timeout.

Even if they're sticking by Rushing for now, acquiring Rortvedt for however short a time could be worth it. It would cost the Dodgers little in the way of a few bucks, which we all know they don't care about anyway.

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