MILWAUKEE– Mookie Betts returns to right field and adjusts to his new spot in the lineup after missing nearly two months with a fractured left hand.
So far, the Los Angeles Dodgers star is adapting well.
Betts was activated from the injured list on Monday and showed no signs of rust in a 5-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, batting 2 for 4 with a two-run home run and an RBI single. The eight-time All-Star also made an exceptional play in right field, a remarkable feat considering he had played mostly shortstop this year before being hit by a 98-mph fastball from Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Dan Altavilla on June 16.
“It’s obviously a lot more fun to put your name in the lineup,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
Betts has spent much of his career as a leadoff hitter. He is now second behind two-time AL MVP Shohei Ohtani.
Roberts said before the game that he wanted to use the right-handed Betts between the left-handed Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. Ohtani was successful as the first batter while Betts was injured.
When Ohtani batted in front of Betts on Monday night, he hit his NL-leading 36th home run and hit a home run on a 3-0 pitch for the first time in his career. When asked after the game if it felt weird batting second instead of first, Betts paused for a few seconds before giving that answer.
“No, because in front of me is Shohei,” he said. “Whatever he has, whatever he wants to do, he can do it.”
Betts welcomed the move back to right field, although he believes he has already shown that he can do a good job as a shortstop as well.
Betts said returning to the position he is most comfortable in will clear his head when he returns from his injury, and he won’t have to think as much as he did earlier this season when he was trying to learn a new position.
“I said that my first year as a right winger,” Betts said before the game. “I wasn’t comfortable. I had to deal with the bumps and bruises. I went through 10 years of bumps and bruises, so I know how to deal with it. As a shortstop, I went through that for two months. If you want to win a World Series, you have to be good at every position out there. I understand that. The only thing that really matters to me is winning.”
Betts’ experience in the right field was evident Monday when he hit a ball perfectly to the wall in the sixth inning, limiting Jackson Chourio to a single.
“These are the nuances I was talking about that you don’t learn in two months,” Betts said. “It took years to get good at it.”
Monday night’s game against the Brewers was Betts’ 917th career start in right field. He has made 98 as a second baseman and 73 as a shortstop. All of his starts as a shortstop and most of his starts as a second baseman have come in the last two seasons.
“I do think I can be a good shortstop, but I know there are some guys in our locker room who can do that very, very well – Gold Glove winners,” Betts said before the game. “They’ve got to take care of it. I think the best thing for me and the team is to go out there and play the right way.”
Miguel Rojas, who was activated from the injured list last week, has yet to win a Gold Glove but was a finalist for the award in 2020 and 2022 when he played shortstop for the Miami Marlins. The Dodgers also have Nick Ahmed, a Gold Glove shortstop with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2018 and 2019.
At the July 30 trade deadline, the Dodgers signed all-rounder Tommy Edman, a Gold Glove second baseman with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021. Edman, who also has experience as a shortstop, has not played this season as he recovers from wrist surgery, but just began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City. All-rounder Kiké Hernández of Los Angeles gives the NL West leaders another shortstop option.
The Dodgers are so comfortable with their situation at shortstop that they designated Amed Rosario for assignment to make room for Betts. The club acquired Rosario from Tampa Bay just two weeks ago for minor league pitcher Michael Flynn.
Although he praised Betts’ performance as shortstop this season, Roberts also said that moving the 2018 AL MVP to right field was the right move, given the options the team now has at shortstop and second baseman, where Gavin Lux has established himself.
“Mookie did a good job at shortstop,” Roberts said. “He got the balls and made the plays, I thought he did that really well. He just tried to get a handle on the different throws and angles.”
With their current roster, the Dodgers are best off with Betts in right field, Roberts said, “given the way Gavin plays second base and the way Miggy Ro has played shortstop and on offense.”
Jason Heyward has seen a lot of playing time in right field for the Dodgers this season. Heyward, 35, has a .204 batting average with a .288 on-base percentage, five home runs and 24 RBIs in 59 games.
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