2025 Dodgers season review: Will Smith

Will Smith was one of the best offensive catchers during the 2025 regular season, as he was named to his third consecutive NL All-Star team and even registered some MVP votes. Despite suffering a hand injury that wiped out his final month of the regular season, he made his return in the postseason and delivered numerous key moments against the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series.

As had been a recurring theme for Smith the past two seasons, Smith was coming off a 2024 season where he was looking like an MVP in the first half, only for his bat to taper off in the second half. His bat had diminished so much that in the postseason, he was relegating to hitting at the bottom third in the Dodgers’ lineup for the World Series against the New York Yankees.

Smith had been dealing with a nagging ankle issue dating back to the 2024 season, which severely hampered his hitting and base running abilities. As a result, Smith missed the first week of cactus league play, but he eventually made his spring debut on Feb. 28 and played in seven cactus league games. Once the regular season began, Smith got out to an exceptional start, hitting as high as .400 into April 7 during the team’s first road trip with an on-base percentage at .550. He began to slightly fall back down to Earth over the course of the month, but still ended the month of April with a remarkable .316/.426/.500 slash line.

Smith was making himself known as not only one of the best hitting catchers in baseball, but as one of the best hitters in general. His batting average never fell below .300 during the entire first half of the regular season, and he was at or near the top in various offensive categories. Smith hit .323 in the first half, leading the National League and ranking in fourth in all of baseball, and his 169 wRC+ ranked third in baseball behind Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh. Smith’s 15 percent walk rate ranked first among catchers— just ahead of Raleigh at 14.9 percent— and his .425 on-base percentage ranked best in the National League and only behind Aaron Judge for second in baseball.

Where Smith really stood out was his ability to hit with runners on base, as by June 4, he held a .440 batting average with runners in scoring position, ranking best in the NL and second behind Aaron Judge for all players that had at least 40 plate appearances. Although he wasn’t able to sustain that extreme level of productivity, he still finished the regular season with a .337 batting average in those situations, ranking 11th in baseball. Not only was he productive with the bat, he became increasingly patient in RISP situations, as his walk rate rose to 17.1 percent and his strikeout rate fell to 13.8 percent. Smith was an easy pick to start at catcher for the National League All-Star team, making his third consecutive All-Star selection.

In an attempt to keep Smith as great a hitter as he was in the first half entering the second half of the season, Smith received the occasional off day in lieu for Dalton Rushing. Things were looking great over his first 11 games following the break, as he hit .343 in that span while also collecting his first multi-home run game of the season. As the Dodgers continued to mire in an underwhelming second half, Smith’s contention for the batting title began to slip away throughout the entire month of August. Smith had two stretches of being hitless in at least three games, and slumped to a .159/.326/.304 slash line while his batting average on the season fell from .325 down to .293.

Smith never got the chance to improve upon his August slump, as on Sept. 3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates he took a foul ball off the bat of Nick Gonzales to his right hand, forcing him to exit the game early. He attempted to play through it six days later against the Colorado Rockies, but his regular season was forced to come to an abrupt end once he was placed on the injured list due to a fractured right hand. With Smith out, the Dodgers were forced to rely on both Rushing and Rortvedt as platoon options behind the plate, and even added Chuckie Robinson to the fold while Rushing dealt with an injury of his own.

With the postseason in full swing, Smith was unable to play in either of the two Wild Card games against the Cincinnati Reds, but he was able to return just in time for the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies and remained healthy throughout. Smith added to a four-run seventh inning in Game 2 with a two-run single, but wasn’t much of an impact in the other three games. Runs were hard to come by in the NLCS, but Smith was able to score three times and went 6-15 in the four games against the Milwaukee Brewers. In the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Smith put the offense on his back in Game 2, smashing a home run against Kevin Gausman and driving in three. He began the scoring in Game 6 with an RBI double and in Game 7, he hit the go-ahead home run against Shane Bieber that gave the Dodgers a 5-4 lead, ultimately putting the cherry on top of the Dodgers’ second consecutive championship.

2025 particulars

Age: 30

Stats: .296/.404/.497, 17 HR, 61 RBI, 20 2B, 61 R, 89 K, 64 BB, 153 wRC+, 4.5 rWAR, 4.1 fWAR

Postseason: .276/.363/.414, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 2 2B, 8 R

Salary: $23 million (Smith earned the other $15 million of his signing bonus on Jan. 15 and made $13 million in actual salary, with $5 million being deferred)

Game of the year

Smith had some notable moments during the regular season, including a walk-off home run against the San Diego Padres on June 18, but his best game came on July 21 against the Minnesota Twins, as he finished 2-4 while collecting his lone multi-home run game of the season.

Roster status

Smith is entering the third year of his $10-year, $140 million extension he signed with the Dodgers on March 28, 2024. He will make $8 million in 2026, as he will earn $13 million in actual salary with another $5 million being deferred.