Mookie Betts will return to the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup on Monday after a two-month absence due to a broken left hand.
However, the All-Star will play a new but familiar position when he takes the field against the Milwaukee Brewers. Betts will return to right field, where he has played most of his career – including during his 2018 MVP season with the Boston Red Sox. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced the decision ahead of Friday’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Miguel Rojas will remain at shortstop, where he has played since Betts went on the injured list, with Nick Ahmed providing backup.
Betts was the Dodgers’ starting shortstop until his injury, moving to the position during spring training amid Gavin Lux’s pitching struggles. He played 65 games (starting 61) there this season. The plan was to keep Betts at shortstop when he returned, but he says it was better for the team to return to right field.
“I think it was a mutual thing, but I would say I went to them mostly,” Betts said, via Mike Digiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. “I said, ‘Listen, I believe I can do this, but I want to win, man. I want to win. And I don’t know if I [at shortstop] is the best solution.'”
Jason Heyward has played right field for most of the season. The veteran is playing strong defense at the position, according to advanced metrics, but is also batting .204 with a .665 OPS.
However, Betts is a clear offensive upgrade, hitting his MVP standard of .304 average and .892 OPS with 16 doubles, 10 home runs and nine stolen bases. And he was always excellent in right field, credited with 132 defensive runs saved during his career and winning six Gold Gloves for his play.
“This is essentially reading the room, me and him talking,” Roberts told reporters. “And that’s part of my job, to have an idea of where he is and where the club is. And that’s something we both feel, the organization feels too, is the best thing for the Dodgers in 2024.”
Additionally, Betts is giving up the lead in the batting order upon his return, ceding it to Shohei Ohtani, who compiled a .274/.383/.637 line with 16 home runs and 17 stolen bases at the top of the lineup.
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