The Los Angeles Dodgers have been without Mookie Betts for nearly two weeks as he recovers from a fractured rib suffered as a result of a collision with Cody Bellinger on June 15.
Betts was penciled into the initial Dodgers lineup each of the next two games, but he was ultimately placed on the 10-day injured list on June 19 after being scratched in each of those contests and undergoing an MRI that revealed the full extent of his injury.
The Dodgers originally hoped Betts would be out for just two weeks with a plan to refrain from baseball activities for a few days before beginning a rehab process, but that timeline has since been delayed.
However, there was a positive development as Betts has started to take practice swings without any baseballs involved, but the timeline for his return still isn’t clear, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Roberts said outfielder Mookie Betts was cleared to start swinging a bat Tuesday – “dry swings” with no baseball involved. “It’s a step in the right direction,” Roberts said. “I still don’t know a time of return, but it’s positive.”
After dealing with right hip trouble throughout most of the 2021 season, Betts had remained healthy this year prior to the collision. Although another season is being interrupted by injury, he downplayed having frustration.
“It’s not disappointing at all. That’s kind of part of,” Betts said earlier this month. “It’s kind of like a freak accident. I’m out for a couple weeks and I’ll be able to be back and still help the team win. So I’m not disappointed by it.”
Betts has appeared in 60 games this season while batting .273/.349/.535 with 17 home runs, 53 runs scored, 50 RBI, six stolen bases, a .374 wOBA, 148 wRC+ and 3.3 WAR.
Betts remains on track to start All-Star Game
The latest 2022 MLB All-Star Game voting update has Betts and Trea Turner still on track to start at Dodger Stadium. Betts leads all National League players with 2,270,566 votes while Turner is pacing NL shortstops with 1,369,759 votes.
The Dodgers are the only NL team that has two leading vote-getters among position players. However, the Atlanta Braves have a Major League high-tying six players on track to reach Phase 2 of All-Star Game voting. Among them is Ronald Acuña Jr., who is not far behind Betts at 2,197,684 votes.
Phase 1 of All-Star Game voting is open until 11 a.m. PT on Thursday. During this period, fans can complete a ballot up to five times per every 24-hour period. Voting is being held exclusively at MLB.com, all 30 team websites and through the MLB app.
The top two vote-getters at each position (top six for outfielders) in each league will be revealed on MLB Network at 2:00 p.m. and advance to the finalists phase of voting to determine who makes the All-Star teams.
In addition, for the first time since two-phase balloting began in 2019, the leading vote-getter in each league during the first phase of voting will be an automatic All-Star Game starter and bypass the second phase of voting.
While Betts is on track to start at Dodger Stadium, his participation in the All-Star Game remains in question due to the rib injury.
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