Latest confusing update on Dodgers' top prospect further muddies his future in LA

Depending on how his first few months in Triple-A go next year, Dodgers No. 1 prospect Dalton Rushing may be on the precipice of his major league debut. MLB Pipeline predicts that he'll land in 2025, and some early speculation has even suggested he might be able to make it onto the Opening Day roster if he puts up a strong enough showing in spring training.

However, there's still some wishy-washiness on the Dodgers' part about what position Rushing will end up at long-term. From rookie ball through Double-A, he was mostly a catcher and sometimes a first baseman, but he was shifted into left field in his last few weeks in Tulsa. Upon his promotion to Oklahoma City, he was installed in the outfield in a move that seemed more or less permanent.

This switch made sense, given the bleak outlook for Rushing as an upcoming catcher for the Dodgers, a team that extended Will Smith for 10 years and $140 million in late March. Rushing profiles too well as a hitter for the Dodgers to plan on sticking him behind Smith as a backup forever.

However, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic wrote in a new mailbag that the Dodgers plan to put Rushing back behind the plate in 2025, which leads us back to where we started.

What does Dodgers top prospect Dalton Rushing's move back to catcher mean for his future?

Brandon Gomes said that they would also be giving Rushing some play in the outfield depending on his workload. He graded out well as a left fielder in Double- and Triple-A last season, with a .978 fielding percentage over 278 1/3 innings, and with Michael Conforto on a one-year deal, they could give Rushing some at-bats in 2025 for a tryout stint before easing him in more fully in 2026 depending on his performance.

The Dodgers have seemed hesitant to trade him; in their talks with the White Sox for Garrett Crochet at the 2024 trade deadline, they stopped short of offering Rushing for a starting pitcher they seemed to want desperately. So if their plan is to keep Rushing instead of turning him into a powerful trade piece, why would they put him back at catcher?

Hunter Feduccia is likely to the be the Dodgers' go-to backup catcher in 2025, a role he played in 2024 when Austin Barnes spent some time on the IL. Diego Cartaya is also still in the Dodgers system, and either would be better future backup options when Barnes becomes a free agent after the 2025 season than Rushing, who has a better chance of being too good to be stuck playing second fiddle behind Smith.

Plans could always change, and Rushing could end up in the outfield despite the Dodgers' current plans. But at this point, it's hard to get on the same page with them about the long-term picture.