The Los Angeles Dodgers weren’t able to build on sweeping the San Diego Padres as their three-game winning streak was snapped in a walk-off loss to the lowly Colorado Rockies.
Although the Rockies by far have the worst record in baseball, they did enter the series opener at Coors Field having won their last three games. Colorado’s win came in part due to Teoscar Hernández failing to make a catch in right field, resulting in a one-out double in the ninth inning.
Hernández also didn’t get to a fly ball during the third inning, and his defense overall in right field has left plenty to be desired. That’s prompted external calls for Mookie Betts to return to the position where he’s won six Gold Glove Awards.
The Dodgers to this point have remained committed to Betts as their starting shortstop. But change could potentially be afoot.
According to Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times, Betts privately met with Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and manager Dave Roberts after the team’s loss:
After a 4-3 walk-off loss to the last-place Colorado Rockies — a loss set up by two poor plays from right fielder Teoscar Hernández — Mookie Betts met with manager Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, in Roberts’ office.
If the Dodgers moved Betts back to right field for the remainder of the season, it would represent the second year in a row doing so. The domino effect presumably would entail Hernández shifting to left field and bumping Michael Conforto out of a regular role amid his season-long struggles.
Though, it is worth noting Hernández grades out similarly in right field this season as he did as a left fielder in 2024.
Betts did recently just finish a game in right field as the Dodgers were relying on pinch-hitters and ran short on available outfielders. That came in a loss to the Los Angeles Angels, and afterward Roberts said it was Betts who volunteered to play right field.
What did Mookie Betts talk to Andrew Friedman & Dave Roberts about?
It’s not clear what Friedman, Roberts and Betts discussed in their private meeting, but the implication is a potential change within their position group.
Of course, other topics are plausible as well, including Betts’ own personal struggles at the plate this season or perhaps the overall state of the team amid what Roberts has called a “middling” stretch.
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