When Mookie Betts makes his long-awaited return from a left hand fracture in Milwaukee next week, it will be in one position that has become relatively familiar to the eight-time All-Star and another that will be relatively new.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that Betts will remain at shortstop, the spot he moved to in early March because of Gavin Lux’s throwing woes but hadn’t played full time since high school, ending speculation that the six-time Gold Glove Award-winning right fielder could return to the outfield.
But Roberts said Betts, who made all 72 of his starts this season in the leadoff spot, will be moved to the second spot in the order so dynamic slugger Shohei Ohtani can remain in the leadoff spot and the left-handed bats of Ohtani and No. 3 hitter Freddie Freeman can be separated by the right-handed-hitting Betts.
“I think it’s hard to argue [against] Shohei starting off the game in the leadoff spot,” Roberts said before Tuesday night’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies. “It breaks up Shohei and Freddie, I like the idea of [Ohtani and Betts] potentially getting the most at-bats, and I didn’t want to bat Freddie cleanup.
“The other part of it is, I just feel that as great as Mookie is, Shohei really has the chance to change the game from the first pitch.”
Betts, the 2018 American League most valuable player with the Boston Red Sox, hit .304 with an .892 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 10 homers, 16 doubles, 40 RBIs and 50 runs this season before being struck on the left hand by a 98-mph fastball on June 16.
Ohtani, who hit .314 with a .989 OPS, 19 homers, 18 doubles, 46 RBIs and 53 runs in 69 starts in the second spot, replaced Betts in the leadoff spot, where he hit .299 with a 1.095 OPS, 15 homers, 11 doubles, 35 RBIs and 33 runs in 41 games entering Tuesday night.
Betts made 11 starts in the second spot for the Dodgers in 2020, his first season with the team, but hasn’t hit there since and has made only 89 of his 1,310 career starts in the two-hole, 46 of them for the Red Sox in 2019. Betts has a .307 average, .877 OPS, 12 homers and 46 RBIs when he bats second.
Roberts said he has spoken to Betts about the move to the second spot in the order. Betts, who is scheduled to play in a simulated game on Thursday and could make a few minor league rehabilitation starts before being activated for Monday’s series opener against the Brewers, reiterated that he is willing to do whatever is best for the team.
“One thing — I want to win,” Betts said on Monday. “You want to win, that comes first. That’s all I care about. I’m confident in my abilities, confident in myself, that I can go out there in whatever position and do what I need to do to help the team win.”
That attitude — combined with Betts’ athleticism and flexibility — prompted the Dodgers to move him from right field to second base last winter and from second base to shortstop in spring training.
Betts committed nine errors at shortstop, eight of them on throws, but he improved as he gained more experience and rated highly in some advanced metrics, with Fangraphs crediting him with five defensive runs saved.
The slick-fielding Miguel Rojas replaced Betts in mid-June and played superb defense before suffering a right forearm injury on July 21. With Rojas expected to return this week and Lux, one of the team’s hottest hitters, more entrenched at second base, Betts seemed open to a return to the outfield.
“I don’t know, I mean, I haven’t talked to Doc about it,” Betts said on Monday. “There’s a lot of guys that can play shortstop here. If that’s not in the cards, that’s cool. I can go from there, anywhere else. Just prepare, and where I land is where I land.”
With Betts remaining at shortstop and Rojas on the verge of returning, veteran fill-in shortstop Nick Ahmed could be designated for assignment, and recently acquired utility man Amed Rosario and perhaps Rojas could platoon with Lux at second base.
Utility infielder Tommy Edman, acquired from St. Louis last week, could play more outfield when he returns from an ankle injury. Rosario and Kiké Hernández, who has been filling in for injured third baseman Max Muncy, can also play outfield, which could put the roster spots of young outfielders James Outman and Andy Pages in jeopardy.
“It’s tough, certainly for the players,” Roberts said of the impending roster crunch. “As an organization, more talent coming back is always a good thing. But the uncertainty of players that are active … could they get the tap on the shoulder? That’s not a good feeling. So just focus on performing and helping us win a ballgame, that’s my message.
“But they’re still humans and have emotions. It’s certainly a tough spot. It’s like the last week of spring training, where guys are trying to see if they made the roster for opening day. You kind of get that vibe a little bit.”