LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have missed Mookie Betts.
It was obvious they would, as obvious as the pain on Betts’ face when he was hit in the left hand by a pitch from Kansas City Royals reliever Dan Altavilla on June 16. The numbers reflect it.
The Dodgers were 44-29 at the time with an eight-game lead in the National League West. Forty-two games later with Betts just days away from returning to their lineup, the Dodgers have gone 22-20 without him and their lead in the division is down to 2½ games. The offense has dropped from at or near the top of MLB in most statistics. The Dodgers hit .255/.334/.436 with a healthy Betts in the lineup. Without him over the past 42 games, they have hit .246/.329/.421, down in every category – helped by other injuries that have also lowered the talent level in the lineup.
The fracture in Betts’ hand has healed. Now, it’s up to him to start healing what ails the Dodgers.
“I mean, no more anxious than any other time,” Betts said when asked after his workout Wednesday if he was anxious to get back in the lineup. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy this time with my family and a little mental break, especially learning a new position and whatnot. So I’m not rushing that.
“This is my first time in 15 years that I’ve got to spend a couple months in the summer with my family. So that was cool. But when the time comes to step on the field, I’ll be ready to go.”
Probably the best leadoff hitter in baseball when he was injured, Betts will not return to that spot in the lineup – because Shohei Ohtani replaced him as the best leadoff hitter in baseball. Ohtani has hit .290 with 15 home runs, 17 stolen bases and a 1.064 OPS since taking Betts’ spot at the top (numbers lowered by a recent 2-for-16 stretch).
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said this week that Ohtani will remain the leadoff hitter when Betts returns with Betts slipping into the No. 2 spot, breaking up the left-handed hitters Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. Over the years, Betts has not hidden his preference for batting leadoff – and he has some history at stake, having climbed to fifth all-time with 52 career leadoff home runs.
And he sounded slightly irritated by the Dodgers’ decision to keep Ohtani at leadoff.
“I mean, I can’t say I’m better than Shohei,” Betts said. “There’s nothing really you can say. Whatever Shohei says goes, and after that we kind of fall in line.”
Betts said there is a “big difference, huge difference” in where he hits in the lineup.
“But it doesn’t matter,” he said. “When the lights turn on, it doesn’t matter. You gotta be ready to go. And I’ll be ready to go.”
If the plan to move Betts to the No. 2 spot in the lineup was a difficult decision they felt was made for the good of the team, Roberts and the Dodgers’ front office had another call to make – where to play Betts when he returns next week.
Miguel Rojas was the everyday shortstop for most of the time Betts missed with Nick Ahmed acquired when Rojas injured his forearm. Kiké Hernandez played some shortstop in that time. Amed Rosario and Tommy Edman were added at the trade deadline (though Edman remains on the injured list). Both have more experience at shortstop than Betts.
But Roberts said this week that Betts will return to his job as the Dodgers’ everyday shortstop – at least for now.
The decision is being made as much “to keep options open for something that is unforeseeable” as anything and “given what we’ve been through this year on the health part of it, to be able to pivot” if necessary.
Moving Betts to second base now would cost Gavin Lux at-bats – and Lux has been the Dodgers’ best hitter over the past 22 games (a .391 average and 1.139 OPS). Moving Betts back to the outfield now (where he has won six Gold Gloves) would essentially close out shortstop as an option for the rest of the season – the Dodgers don’t want to be in a position where they have to “tap him on the shoulder and say, ‘We need you to go back and play a position you haven’t played in two months,’” Roberts said.
“The most important part of this is you have to put the best players in the best positions that are best for the team. I don’t think there’s a player – Mookie in this case – who isn’t aligned with that thought,” Roberts said.
Given the other options they have and the lack of offensive production from the outfield (outside of Teoscar Hernandez), putting “the best players in the best positions” would involve Betts returning to right field. Roberts did not deny that nor did he eliminate it as a possible outcome.
“Fortunately for us we don’t have to have that discussion right now,” he said. “It might come to that.”
Related Articles
Alexander: For Dodgers, a frustrating night continues a frustrating stretch
Dodgers blow lead, Phillies score 5 after questionable call at third base
Yoshinobu Yamamoto growing confident in return to Dodgers’ rotation
Clayton Kershaw looks better, but Brusdar Graterol is injured in Dodgers’ loss to Phillies
Mookie Betts expected to rejoin Dodgers’ lineup next week
For his part, Betts said there was no excitement on his part about returning to shortstop, a challenge he accepted on short notice this spring.
“No, not really. It’s the position I gotta play. I’m past the excitement stage,” he said. “I just want to win. I understand the task that shortstop brings. It’s more focused on helping the team win. It doesn’t matter what way, form or fashion.”
Betts said his stance didn’t change when talking with Roberts and the front office about where he would play upon returning and any relief about defining his role “doesn’t help me catch ground balls at seven o’clock.”
“I just want to win,” he repeated. “So I’m confident in my abilities to go play wherever. And wherever they think is best for the team, I’ll do it.”
UP NEXT
Pirates (RHP Mitch Keller, 10-15, 3.20 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Jack Flaherty, 8-5, 2.80 ERA), Friday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, MLB Network, 570 AM
