Despite initial optimism from Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers when he was put on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain, he continues to be limited in baseball activities.
Betts is able to throw and run without much issue but has yet to begin swinging a bat as part of his rehab process. Betts told David Vassegh of A.M. 570 LA Sports he is doing rotational work with a medicine ball to simulate swinging for the time being.
“I’m able to throw. Running, I feel it, but it’s not that bad. I haven’t started hitting yet but we’re doing med ball throws. We want to get fully comfortable with throwing a med ball and not having any hesitation with that before we start swinging.
“Just because I don’t want to start developing bad habits, because I’m scared to swing. But I mean, with all that being said, things are going great. It’s just an oblique, and it’s going to take time.”
The 33-year-old hopes to avoid repeating a mistake from early in the 2025 season, when he developed poor mechanical habits while recovering from an illness that caused him to lose 20 pounds.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said there hasn’t been any new updates regarding Betts’ condition, but no setbacks at this point in the recovery process is good news.
“He’s moving well. I see him throwing, stretching out a little bit,” he said. “I’m not sure when he’s going to start swinging the bat, but from him, from talking to him, he doesn’t feel any symptoms. He’s not symptomatic. So that’s a good thing.”
As the Dodgers have seen with Max Muncy, oblique injuries can be very finicky during the rehab process. Roberts said getting Betts to a place where he can swing the bat is the biggest hurdle to clear, but the team wants to be 100% sure he is physically ready in order to avoid a setback.
“The swinging, there’s still trying to figure out how he ended up doing it. So the running part of it, he’s run, and I’ve seen that, that looks good,” Roberts said. “I think the oblique is something where it’s good until it’s not. So you want to make sure that you’re really mindful of the process to get back, to build up.”
This is why Betts has yet to swing a bat despite being symptom free. Roberts said the rotational work being completed in the weight room is part of the necessary build-up that needs to be completed first.
The Dodgers are letting Betts’ past experiences guide their decision making, and being in the early part of the season has also motivated the team to be cautious with his recovery.
“Yeah, we are (being more intentional). But also, he’s had experience with this in ’18 where he never really fully came back. There’s been some other injuries that he’s dealt with that lingered,” Roberts said.
“So I think that’s part of just getting more mature and just making sure that you have some viable options. And he’s not much benefit if he’s not the Mookie Betts that we know. So that’s why we are encouraging him take his time.”
Dodgers unsure if Mookie Betts will need rehab assignment
While Betts’ return isn’t imminent, the Dodgers will consider multiple factors before making a decision on whether or not to send him out on assignment with a Minor League affiliate.
“Fair question,” Roberts said. “I think that would be hard to answer right now because we don’t know how long he’s going to be out for. But I know that there’s sim game opportunities, and he’s probably not one that loves going to a rehab assignment.
“So we’ll put a pin in that one.”
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