Mookie Betts is returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup on Monday, following a two-month absence due to a fractured left hand.
However, the All-Star will be playing a new, but familiar position when he takes the field versus the Milwaukee Brewers. Betts will move back to right field, where he’s played most of his career – including during his 2018 MVP season with the Boston Red Sox. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced the decision before Friday’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Miguel Rojas will stay at shortstop, where he’s played since Betts went on the injured list, with Nick Ahmed backing him up.
Betts was the Dodgers’ starting shortstop until his injury, moving to the position during spring training amid Gavin Lux’s throwing difficulties. 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 move back to right field.
“I think it was kind of a mutual thing, but I would say I mostly went to them,” Betts said, via the Los Angeles Times’ Mike Digiovanna. “I said, ‘Listen, I believe I can do it, but I want to win, man. I want to win. And I don’t know if me [at shortstop] is the best solution.'”
Jason Heyward has played right field for the majority of the season. The veteran is playing strong defense at the position, according to advanced metrics, but he’s also batting .204 with a .665 OPS.
However, Betts is a clear upgrade offensively, batting to his MVP standard of a .304 average and .892 OPS with 16 doubles, 10 home runs and nine stolen bases. And he’s always been excellent in right field, credited with 132 Defensive Runs Saved during his career and earning six Gold Gloves for his play.
“This is kind of essentially reading the room, me and him talking,” Roberts told reporters. “And that’s part of my job, to kind of get a feel for where he’s at, and where the ballclub is at. And this is something that both of us feel, the organization too, is the best thing for the Dodgers in 2024.”
Additionally, Betts is giving up the leadoff spot in the batting order upon his return, ceding to Shohei Ohtani, who’s compiled a slash average of .274/.383/.637 with 16 homers and 17 stolen bases at the top of the lineup.
