Hunter

Feduccia

Feduccia is heading back to Triple-A with the Dodgers activating Austin Barnes as the backup catcher. He was 4-for-12 (.333) with no home runs and one RBI in five games for Los Angeles.

Feduccia went 1-for-3 with a walk in 10 days with the Dodgers during Austin Barnes’ original absence last month. He’ll resume playing behind Will Smith now.

It went off the same toe he fractured last month. Hunter Feduccia is expected to take his roster spot and serve as the Dodgers’ backup catcher for at least the next 10 days.

Feduccia was up with the Dodgers for a couple weeks as Will Smith’s caddy with Austin Barnes on the injured list. He’ll head back to Triple-A with Barnes returning for Thursday’s game against the Orioles.

Feduccia will play behind Will Smith until Austin Barnes returns from a fractured toe. The 27-year-old, who made his major league debut last month, had hit .282/.415/.433 in 73 games for Oklahoma City.

Feduccia has been shipped back to the minors to free up a spot on the Dodgers’ active roster for newly-acquired defensive specialist Kevin Kiermaier.

The 27-year-old backstop has been having a solid season at the dish at Triple-A Oklahoma City, slashing .295/.420/.451 with five homers, 42 RBI and a 51/46 K/BB ratio over 274 plate appearances. He’ll add depth on the Dodgers’ bench while Freddie Freeman (personal) is away from the team.

Feduccia has had a strong year in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League at Triple-A Oklahoma, batting .295/.420/.451 with five homers and two steals across 274 plate appearances. He’s presumably up for the weekend to give Los Angeles some extra first base depth with Freddie Freeman getting a couple games off tending to a personal matter.

With the Dodgers and Padres set to open the regular season sooner than the rest of the league, expect them to trim down their rosters more quickly than the rest of the league. Knack, 26, had been a dark horse to see occasional starts as part of a six-man rotation to begin the season, but he’ll start out as excess depth at the Triple-A level instead.

Feduccia is a major league-ready backup catcher with a legitimate bat (.279/.387/.451 in 90 Triple-A games last season) and good receiving skills. His arm is a weakness — he gave up a whopping 122 steals in his 86 games behind the plate for Oklahoma City — but the rest of his game is solid enough, and it’s quite likely someone would have taken him in the Rule 5 Draft if the Dodgers have left him unprotected.