Mookie Betts knows he won’t be batting leadoff on Monday when he returns from a broken hand that has sidelined him for 42 games with the NL West-leading Dodgers this season. That spot has been ceded to Shohei Ohtani.
Betts also seems to know what his place is within the club, based on this curious response to Dodgers beat writer Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register last week, which may reveal something about the pecking order in L.A. these days.
“I mean, I can’t say I’m better than Shohei. There’s nothing really you can say,” Betts said. “Whatever Shohei says goes, and after that we kind of fall in line.”
Ohtani, who signed with the Dodgers for a record 10-year, $700-million deal the off-season, has hit .307 with 33 runs scored, 15 home runs and 35 RBI since taking over the leadoff spot from Betts, who got hurt on June 16.
Betts moved to the leadoff spot shortly after joining the Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox in 2020, and he’s made it known he prefers to be there. He was hitting .304 with 10 homers in 72 games before getting hit by a pitch.
Upon his return to the lineup, Betts will play in right field as opposed to shortstop, according Plunkett. Betts started 61 games at short this season prior to the injury.
“It’s not like I’ve been years away from it,” Betts said about moving back to right field. “It hasn’t even been a year. I’ve still got it in me.”
Betts, who turns 32 on Oct. 7, said he would be wearing a hand guard to protect himself. He got hurt when he was hit by a 98 m.p.h. fastball from Kansas City Royals reliever Dan Altavilla on June 16.
The NL West-leading Dodgers open a four-game series at Milwaukee on Monday and announced that Betts has been activated from the injured list and will be available.
Monday night’s game against the Brewers will mark Betts’ 917th career start in right field. He’s made 92 at second base and 73 at shortstop. All his starts at shortstop and the majority of his starts at second base came over the last two seasons.
“I do believe that I can be a good shortstop, but I know there’s a couple of guys in our clubhouse who are very, very good at it — Gold Glove winners,” Betts said. “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 July 30 trade deadline, the Dodgers acquired utilityman Tommy Edman, who was a Gold Glove second baseman with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021. Edman, who also has experience at shortstop, hasn’t played yet this season while recovering from wrist surgery but just began a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City. Los Angeles utilityman Kiké Hernández gives the NL West leaders another shortstop option.
The Dodgers feel comfortable enough with their situation at shortstop that Amed Rosario was designated for assignment to make room for Betts. The club acquired Rosario from Tampa Bay for minor league pitcher Michael Flynn just two weeks ago.
Although he credited Betts’ performance at shortstop this season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also said putting the 2018 AL MVP in right field was the right move given the options the team has now at shortstop and second base, where Gavin Lux has solidified himself.
“Mookie did a fine job at short,” Roberts said. “Getting to the balls, making the plays, I thought he did a really good job of. It was just trying to really get a handle on the different throws, the angles.”
With their current roster, Roberts said the Dodgers are best 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.”
Betts said moving back to the position where he’s most comfortable also will free his mind as he returns from the injury. He won’t have to think quite as much as he did earlier this season when he was trying to learn a new position.
“I said the same thing my first year playing right field,” Betts said. “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.”
Jason Heyward had been getting much of the playing time in right field for the Dodgers this season. The 35-year-old Heyward is hitting .204 with a .288 on-base percentage, five homers and 24 RBIs in 59 games.
The top of the Dodgers’ batting order will be Ohtani, Betts and Freddie Freeman.
— With files from The Associated Press
