The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Mookie Betts on the 10-day injured list with right oblique strain and recalled Hyeseong Kim from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Betts suffered what initially was deemed a back injury in the first inning of yesterday’s game and was replaced by Miguel Rojas on defense. He was thought to have injured his back while scoring from first base on a double by Freddie Freeman.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts described Betts’ back injury as “more moderate than significant” and said he would miss at least the next couple of games. He also noted Betts was scheduled to undergo an MRI to provide some more clarity.
The results of which revealed Betts instead suffered an oblique strain, which is more serious than the low back pain the Dodgers announced he’d left the game with.
Betts has had a slow start at the plate, hitting just .179/.281/.429 with two home runs, seven RBI, seven runs scored and a 105 wRC+. However, that also somewhat represents a continued trend from last season when he finished the year with a 104 wR+ while hitting .258/.326/.406.
Without Betts on the team, expect Rojas and Kim to see the majority of time at shortstop. That’s going to result in Alex Freeland, who beat out Kim for the final roster spot, becoming the primary starter at second base.
Hyeseong Kim returns to Dodgers
Kim is back up with the Dodgers after he was a surprise roster cut following Spring Training when he hit .407/.448/.519. Despite his strong spring, the Dodgers are not particularly confident in his bat.
Last season, Kim finished just below league average offensively by hitting .280/.314/.385 with a 95 wRC+. He endured significant regression after a strong debut in May.
From June through the season’s end, Kim hit .224/.256/.302 with a 55 wRC+. In the second half of the season alone, Kim hit .143/.160/.204, giving him a -4 wRC over 22 games.
The Dodgers have been working on swing changes with Kim, and he was off to a strong start in Triple-A. Over his first six games of the year, Kim batted .346/.438/.385 but only had one extra-base hit.
Projection systems aren’t high on the 27-year-old either, with the expectations ranging from a 76 to 86 wRC+ with a slash line around .240/.290/.345.
Much of Kim’s game relies on batting average on balls in play luck, and with a career 30.6% strikeout rate, he does not make enough contact to have a sustainable offensive profile without real changes to his swing and approach.
The Dodgers will hope he can continue to have some of that BABIP luck while Betts is out, but if not, he does provide value as a plus defender at second base and as a pinch-runner. Kim has the ability to play shortstop, center field and third base, but there are some questions about his defense as well.
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!
