Mookie Betts is moving back to right field and adjusting to a new spot in the lineup after missing almost two months with a broken left hand. So far, the Los Angeles Dodgers star is adapting well.
Betts returned from the injured list on Monday and showed he was in good form during a 5-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. He went 2 for 4 with a two-run homer and an RBI single.
The eight-time All-Star also made a great play in right field. This was noteworthy since he had mostly played shortstop this year before he was hit by a 98 mph fastball from Kansas City Royals reliever Dan Altavilla on June 16.
“Obviously, it’s a lot more fun writing his name in the lineup,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Betts, who has often batted leadoff in his career, is now batting second, behind two-time AL MVP Shohei Ohtani.
Roberts said before the game he wanted the right-handed-hitting Betts between the left-handed-hitting Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. Ohtani did well as the leadoff hitter while Betts was injured.
On Monday night, Ohtani, who batted in front of Betts, hit his NL-leading 36th home run, hitting a 3-0 pitch for the first time in his career. When asked if it felt strange to bat second instead of first, Betts thought for a moment before answering.
“No, because it’s Shohei in front of me,” he said. “Whatever he’s got, whatever he wants to do, he can do.”
Betts welcomed the move back to right field, even though he feels he has proven he can also play shortstop well.
Betts said returning to the position where he is most comfortable will help him focus as he recovers from the injury. He won’t have to think as much as he did earlier in the season when he was learning a new position.
“I said the same thing my first year playing right field,” Betts said before the game. “I wasn’t comfortable. I had to go through the bumps and bruises. There I went through 10 years of bumps and bruises, so I understand how to go about it.
Shortstop, I went through two months of that. If you want to win a World Series, you need to be well-versed in every position out there. I understand that. All I really care about is winning.”
Betts’ skills in right field were clear on Monday when he made a perfect play off the wall in the sixth inning to hold Jackson Chourio to a single.
“That’s the kind of thing that you don’t learn in just two months,” Betts said. “It takes years to get good at that.”
Monday night’s game against the Brewers was Betts’ 917th career start in right field. He’s also started 98 games at second base and 73 at shortstop. Most of his starts at shortstop and second base have been in the last two seasons.
“I do believe that I can be a good shortstop, but I know there are a few guys in our clubhouse who are very, very good at it — Gold Glove winners,” Betts said before the game. “They need to take care of that. I feel like what’s best for me and the team is to go out and play right.”
Miguel Rojas, who came off the injured list last week, hasn’t won a Gold Glove but was a finalist for the award in 2020 and 2022 while playing 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 trade deadline on July 30, the Dodgers acquired utility player Tommy Edman, who won a Gold Glove as a second baseman with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021. Edman, who also has experience at shortstop, hasn’t played this season while recovering from wrist surgery but recently began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The Dodgers also have Kiké Hernández, another option for shortstop.
The Dodgers are confident in their shortstop situation, so they designated Amed Rosario for assignment to make room for Betts. Rosario was acquired from Tampa Bay for minor league pitcher Michael Flynn just two weeks ago.
Although Roberts praised Betts’ play at shortstop this season, he also mentioned that moving Betts to right field was the best decision based on the team’s current options at shortstop and second base, where Gavin Lux has established himself.
“Mookie did a fine job at short,” Roberts said. “He was good at getting to the balls and making the plays. He did really well. It was just about getting used to the different throws and angles.”
Roberts said the Dodgers are better off with Betts in right field “given the way Gavin’s playing at second base and the way Miggy Ro’s played at short and offensively.”
Jason Heyward had been playing most of the games in right field for the Dodgers this season. The 35-year-old Heyward is hitting .204 with a .288 on-base percentage, five home runs, and 24 RBIs in 59 games.
