The Los Angeles Dodgers are in a second season of having moved Mookie Betts out of right field but facing questions — if not increased pressure — to potentially reverse course.
Unlike last year where Betts endured growing pains in his adjustment to playing shortstop, where he was switched to after going into Spring Training as a second baseman, there hasn’t been nearly as many bumps along the way. Betts’ defensive play as shortstop has instead been additive for the Dodgers.
But that hasn’t held true for Teoscar Hernández in right field, with two questionable fly balls not being caught costing the Dodgers in an walk-off loss to the Colorado Rockies. After the game it was reported Betts met with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and manager Dave Roberts.
All parties involved revealed it centered around Betts checking in to discuss the state of his swing and feeling in the batter’s box.
Furthermore, Roberts added the Dodgers have not discussed the possibility of moving Betts to right field for the rest of the season and into the playoffs, per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“I have not. We have not talked about right field at all,” Roberts said. “He was saying a lot of things when he was mired in his struggles that I didn’t want to hear, so I don’t know. He might have.
“But no, we haven’t talked about it.”
Betts has won six career Gold Glove Awards in right field, but not since 2022. He’s set a goal of earning the same defensive recognition at shortstop.
After playing 43 games in right field last season upon returning from a fractured right hand, Betts has logged just one inning at the position this year. That only came out of circumstance last week as pinch-hitting decisions left the Dodgers facing the prospect of Alex Freeland needing to play right field. Betts instead volunteered to do so.
“That was all Mookie,” Roberts said after the game on Aug. 11.
“I just felt right there, getting within three, I felt (Miguel) Rojas had a better chance to get on base than (Justin) Dean did. So with that, you had to give up some defense, and Mookie volunteered to kick out to right field, which was just being a good teammate.”
How would Mookie Betts do in right field?
Betts’ sprint speed –ranked in the 35th percentile this season — is some cause for concern under the notion of whether the Dodgers should move him back to right field. Betts’ arm strength the last time he was in right field on a regular basis had already dipped to being in the 79th percentile.
There is also the factor that Hernández did not grade out well as a left fielder last season and has expressed being more comfortable as a right fielder. Furthermore, given their current roster and position players not yet back from the injured list, the Dodgers would face a hole at shortstop if moving Betts off the position.
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