After nearly a decade of their shortstop position being locked in by an All-Star, the Los Angeles Dodgers have had a revolving door at the position this season.
They began the year with Gavin Lux penciled in as the starting shortstop, but their plans changed when he tore his ACL and LCL early into Spring Training.
Miguel Rojas took over as the starter, but he has suffered multiple injuries and was placed on the 10-day injured list because of a left hamstring strain, which pushed Chris Taylor into more playing time. However, Taylor suffered an oblique injury and is yet to play the field.
With the rash of injuries, the Dodgers turned to Luke Williams to fill in this week. But they also made a surprising decision when Mookie Betts returned from paternity leave to let him try his hand at the position.
Betts played shortstop for the first time in his career on Thursday after entering the game as a pinch hitter for Williams in the seventh inning.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts previously said Betts has been pushing to play shortstop, so naturally getting to play the position brought him a lot of joy, via SportsNet LA:
“It was a lot of fun. That was like a dream come true. I got drafted as a shortstop and hadn’t seen it since what? I think 2011 was the last time I played short. Getting out there was a lot of fun and a dream come true. I’m happy we won.”
Betts only had one opportunity at shortstop, but he made the most of it. In the eighth inning, he fielded a ground ball up the middle before stepping on second base while leaping over the sliding runner and throwing to first to turn the unassisted double play:
“Oh, it was a lot of fun. It’s fun for me, man. I know it’s work and it’s a job, but getting to play short is a lot of fun for me.”
It’s unclear how often Betts may play shortstop in the future, especially with Taylor expected to be healthy soon, but he is open to playing there, or anywhere else, as much as needed:
“I told Doc, ‘I just want to win, so I’ll play wherever.’ I grew up doing this, so it’s nothing new to me. It’s new to everybody else, but it is what it is.”
The Dodgers lineup has been very inconsistent to begin the season and they have received nearly no production from their group of shortstops. It may be beneficial to the club to allow Betts to play there more often to improve their offense.
Betts was drafted as a shortstop by the Boston Red Sox and played a few games there for the Single-A Lowell Spinners in 2012 before moving to second base, and eventually, to the outfield to accommodate Dustin Pedroia.
How could the Dodgers make Mookie Betts their primary shortstop?
If Betts primarily plays shortstop, it potentially opens the door for prospect Michael Busch to get called up as a left fielder. That would leave a group of Trayce Thompson, Taylor, Jason Heyward and David Peralta fighting for playing time in right field.
But even without Busch, the Dodgers may prefer to keep the bats of those outfielders in the lineup over Rojas.
Betts was back at shortstop for the final two innings of a 13-0 loss on Friday.
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