A meeting between Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, manager Dave Roberts and Mookie Betts on Monday fueled speculation about a possible defensive reconfiguration amid Teoscar Hernández’s ongoing struggles right field.
However, the topic of switching positions did not come up during their conversation and the Dodgers remain committed to Betts as their shortstop.
As for the organization’s plan for Hernández the remainder of this season, Roberts said they are not to the point of potentially moving him to left field, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“I just know that there’s been times when he’s played a formidable right field. I think he’s going to get to that. I really do,” Roberts said. “I think if you’re talking about the first-to-thirds that’s something we can be better at, closing in on the ball. But as far as left field versus right field – we’re just not there yet. But that’s a totally fair question.”
While Roberts has discussed Hernández’s defensive shortcoming multiple times this month, he also said the Dodgers can stand to improve defensively as a team.
If the Dodgers ever do decide it is time for Hernández to move to left field, the picture of their three starting outfielders becomes much clearer once their roster gets healthy.
There are a number of different third outfielder options that the team can deploy, depending on pitching matchups, involving Tommy Edman, Alex Call and Kiké Hernández. Their strongest lineup against right-handed starters likely involves Edman in the outfield and Hyeseong Kim at second base.
In any case, it likely results in reducing Michael Conforto’s role from a lineup regular to a bench player.
Teoscar Hernández explains defensive lapse
Hernández failed to come up with multiple catches in right field against the Rockies on Monday. The last of which resulted in a one-out double that set the table for the Rockies’ walk-off win that snapped the Dodgers’ winning streak at three games.
He broke down his last play following the game and stated that he was focused on “moving forward” instead of dwelling on it. Hernández did respond with improved play the following night.
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