Mookie Betts has been dealing with a bone spur since the beginning of the season that twice required the Los Angeles Dodgers to place him on the 10-day injured list.
The 2018 American League MVP visited with specialists in L.A. to figure out options and ended up receiving a second cortisone injection, which appears to have provided the relief he sought.
Because he is no longer dealing with the pain in his hip, Betts expressed confidence last month that he would finish the season on the field. That’s held true with less than two weeks remaining as Betts ramped up to playing every day.
While Betts has effectively overcome what once was debilitating pain, there is still a possibility — if not an expectation by some — that he will require surgery in the offseason to remove the bone spur. However, Betts did not commit to as much.
“No,” he said. “We’ve got to get there first.”
Betts nevertheless does expect to have conversations when the time comes.
“I think that’s natural, but that doesn’t mean anything is going to come out of it,” he said. “Hopefully we can just rest and let it heal up itself.”
If Betts does undergo surgery, he would need to limit the amount of weight he puts on his hip for upwards of multiple weeks and the pain would be fully gone by four months, if not sooner, according to Advanced Orthopedic Specialists. That timetable would allow him to be ready to go by the start of the next season.
Betts remembered advice from Kobe
Last weekend Betts helped Cincinnati Reds rookie TJ Friedl retrieve a keepsake after hitting his first career home run.
Betts immediately motioned to the Reds fan who caught the homer in the right field stands and indicated he would trade an autographed baseball for the one Friedl hit. However, Betts wound up delivering an autographed bat instead.
“Those type of interactions are kind of everlasting. I think one of the last times I talked to Kobe, he just reminded me that by the time the game is over, somebody knows who you are and somebody recognizes you,” Betts recalled.
“Obviously that’s through our play, but it’s another way for somebody to impact someone’s life. I wasn’t really doing it for cameras. I was just doing it because he easily threw the ball back and didn’t even ask for anything.”
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 more!
