Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing to undergo elbow surgery for partial UCL tear
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Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing was scheduled to undergo elbow surgery Wednesday, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
To address a partial UCL tear, he was expected to undergo a hybrid internal brace procedure, which would set him up to return to catching full time in nine months. He would be able to hit well before then.
Rushing had two stints on the injured list with a flexor strain in his right forearm, along with the UCL tear. He said last month that imaging suggested the slight tear in his UCL hadn’t worsened since 2022.
Rushing took on a larger role this season when primary catcher Will Smith was sidelined for three months by a nagging neck injury. By Aug. 1, Rushing had already logged 245 plate appearances, dwarfing his 2025 rookie season’s total in the majors (155).
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Though he’d carried high workloads in the minors before, being a major-league starting catcher comes with added responsibility. Rushing went through a learning curve juggling his defensive and offensive responsibilities, and navigating intense online scrutiny of his outbursts on the field and in the dugout.
He’d settled into the role, and owned an .809 OPS, when his elbow injury flared while throwing before a game on Aug. 2. He landed on the IL the next day and returned at the beginning of September in a pinch-hitting role.
Rushing logged just four at-bats (0-for-4) before he aggravated the injury trying to build up in a throwing program. He returned again for the last series of the regular season, firmly in a battle for a postseason roster spot as a bat off the bench, and went hitless in three at-bats.
Rushing had initially been hopeful he’d be able to avoid surgery.
“My main plan moving into playing every day in the future is, make sure that my body can hold whatever stress or whatever is needed for this team — first base, behind the plate, whatever they need,” Rushing told The Times last month. “I want to make sure my body can handle it and do it for 162.”
Later on Wednesday, the team announced that right-handed reliever Will Klein had also undergone elbow surgery for bone chip removal and spur cleanup. Klein, who last pitched in a game July 31, is expected to be ready in time for spring training. Klein had a 3.67 earned-run average in 36 appearances last season, a year after pitching four innings and collecting the win in the Dodgers’ 18-inning World Series game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
