For the second time since the All-Star break, the Los Angeles Dodgers placed Mookie Betts on the 10-day injured list due to right hip inflammation.
Betts hasn’t appeared in a game since Aug. 7. He missed the Freeway Series finale and most recently was scratched from the lineup in last Tuesday’s opener against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Betts’ hip trouble has plagued him for most of the year, and it played a role in his decision to skip this year’s Midsummer Classic. Aside from a cortisone shot last month, the 28-year-old’s primary form of treatment has been rest.
However, Betts recently received another injection upon meeting with specialists. “It is a short-term solution,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Betts getting a second cortisone shot.
“I think right now where we’re at, we’re trying to figure out what’s the best way to get him back with us and through the season. Once we get to the offseason we’ll kind of address that (potential surgery).”
An operation would likely sideline Betts for the remainder of the 2021 season, so it is understandable the Dodgers aren’t seriously considering one at this time.
As for when Betts could return to the lineup, it will depend on how he feels and how much pain he can tolerate. “That’s more individual-based. Where he was at, it was too much to tolerate,” Roberts noted.
“Hopefully with the injection, I know right now he’s not active, but talking to the training staff, pain has subsided. When he can return, I still don’t know because he’s got to get ramped up and see how he feels. But outside of that, I really have no educated comment.”
Prior to going back on the IL, the Dodgers had been giving Betts some starts at second base to limit his amount of running. He found it beneficial and believes his body was able to recover faster the next day.
Betts’ hip trouble caused by bone spur
Following his meeting with specialists, it was determined the pain Betts has been feeling is directly related to a bone spur. “It’s a bone spur that is sort of tied into the hips,” Roberts explained.
“It’s really internal, so we don’t know how it came to be. I really don’t know the exact location. All I know is that it causes enough discomfort to not be out there, go on the IL and get an injection for the pain to dissipate. That’s kind of all I know.”
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