The Los Angeles Dodgers placed catcher Dalton Rushing on the 10-day injured list on Sunday due to right elbow discomfort.
The move, which was retroactive to Saturday, made for a brief return to the ballclub for Rushing, who was reinstated from the injured list when MLB rosters were expanded last Tuesday. He spent nearly a month on the IL with a partial tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow but did not undergo surgery.
In a corresponding move, the Dodgers recalled rookie catcher Eliezer Alfonzo from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Rushing, 25, had been scratched as the designated hitter from the lineup ahead of the game against the visiting Washington Nationals on Saturday. His elbow flared up when he threw on the field before the game.
The Dodgers had been playing Rushing strictly as a hitter since his return and had him as a left-handed bat in place of injured superstar Shohei Ohtani.
“I still believe that hitting is on the table,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Rushing on Saturday. “We’ll just see how it feels tomorrow.”
Rushing last played on Friday, going 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter in a 5-3 home win over the Nationals.
He is batting .249 with 12 home runs and 36 RBIs, a .332 on-base percentage and .466 slugging percentage in 78 games this season.
The Dodgers selected Rushing in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Louisville.
Since making his major league debut in 2025, Rushing is batting .231 with 16 homers and 60 RBIs in 131 regular-season games. He made one plate appearance last postseason as the Dodgers repeated as World Series champions.
Alfonzo, who turns 27 on Sept. 23, is 5-for-27 (.185) with four RBIs in 12 games for Los Angeles this season. He was batting .302 with two homers and 25 RBIs in 66 games for Oklahoma City.
