Dodgers' plan for Dalton Rushing emphasizes desperation for an offensive spark

The Los Angeles Dodgers' wave of September roster moves included two surprise returns in Dalton Rushing and Justin Wrobleski. Both were vaguely understood to be on their way back, but there was little indication they would be ready quite this soon.

Wrobleski has moved to the bullpen, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him in a shared, de facto sixth starter role with Eric Lauer. The way the Dodgers plan to utilize Rushing seems a little more complicated.

The Dodgers DFA'ed Ben Rortvedt but kept Hunter Feduccia, who will continue acting as backup catcher despite both Rushing's return. The plan, according to Andrew Friedman, is to use Rushing exclusively in a pinch-hit capacity while he works his way through a throwing progression.

By calling up Rushing (maybe prematurely) and Alex Freeland, the Dodgers got two of the left-handed bats they were reportedly looking for with their September moves.

So Rushing is still somewhat injured and could risk re-aggravating that injury by playing, but the Dodgers brought him back anyway. There were arguably easier ways to go about this — calling up James Tibbs III, for example — but LA was clearly trying to avoid a 40-man addition, and the offense has been so sleepy as of late that they were willing to bring Rushing back early in a part-(part-)time roll to try to give them a jolt.

Dodgers are putting themselves through way too many mental hurdles after September call-ups

Rushing got his first at-bat in a month on Tuesday, pinch-hitting for Miguel Rojas. He struck out on four pitches. Feduccia replaced him in eighth and played first, after Freddie Freeman had already been subbed-out in favor of Kiké Hernández in the seventh. It was just the fourth time Feduccia has played first base in his professional career, and second in the major leagues.

All of this late-inning shuffling and playing guys out of position ... for what? The Dodgers could've just DFA'd a fringe pitcher to bring up a slugging outfielder.

As genius as Friedman can be, he's can also be strangely obstinate. He didn't want to make a 40-man move, so he didn't. He left it to Dave Roberts to do all of the math on the field.

The Dodgers might be betting that Rushing won't need much longer to get through his throwing progression, despite early predictions that he wouldn't catch again in 2026. Fans certainly hope they're right. It's incredibly Dodgers-esque to prioritize offense over defense — even if that offense, in Rushing's case, is a one at-bat per game dice roll — but it can't last forever.

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