Mookie Betts recently suffered a setback in his recovery from a right oblique strain but the overall sentiment from the Los Angeles Dodgers is the process is going well.
He overcame an initial bout of soreness that surfaced after running to resume doing so and also taking swings in a batting cage.
“Mookie’s feeling good. He’s getting anxious,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said earlier this week. “I didn’t really go into what he did as far as progression, but yeah, he’s getting anxious, and I had a brief conversation with him in the dugout.”
Mookie Betts encouraged
Betts started fielding ground balls and taking swings in the batting cage. He did recently participate in batting practice but experienced more soreness the next day.
That caused a minor adjustment in his level of activity, but Betts expressed a belief he’s in good standing, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
Betts said he feels he’s “turned a corner,” but was cautious with his optimism.
The Dodgers put Betts on the 10-day injured list April 5. Roberts said at the time he believed a return would come before the general timetable of four to six weeks. Betts echoed a similar sentiment but Sunday is going to represent his absence spanning four weeks. Six weeks would be May 17.
It’s plausible that the 33-year-old is activated at some point during the typical oblique strain recovery time of four to six weeks. Though, that will entail the Dodgers maintaining a cautious approach as aggravating an oblique strain could lead to missing a few months.
Betts previously dealt with a left oblique strain during the 2018 season. That occurred on a swing in the batting cage, which is different from his current injury surfacing while running the bases.
“I knew that one was much worse than this” Betts said last month. “I just took off running. I’m not sure how or what happened. The day was normal, everything was normal, so I have no idea.”
Betts further stated his current oblique strain is “much less severe” compared to the 2018 injury. But in that instance he was put on the injured list July 1 (retroactive to May 29) and returned July 11. Betts went on to win American League MVP and a World Series title that season.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
