Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts' days of playing shortstop have ended. After Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he’s moving Betts back to right field before their four-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, Mookie said the decision was “mostly mutual” when asked about the switch.
“I think it was kind of a mutual thing, but I would say I mostly went to them,” said Betts, per the Los Angeles Times’ Mike Digiovanna. “I said, ‘Listen, I believe I can do it, but I want to win, man. I want to win. And I don’t know if me [at shortstop] is the best solution.
“I loved the challenge of playing shortstop, but you also have to be real with yourself and the team and do what’s best. That’s what I’ve preached from the beginning. All I want to do is win. I just feel like Miggy and Nick Ahmed being there; that’s winning baseball.”
Betts, who has missed the past two months due to a left-hand fracture, will return to the lineup on Monday. According to Roberts, Betts will return to the outfield, with Miguel Rojas remaining shortstop. The All-Star outfielder is batting .304 from the plate this season with ten home runs and 40 RBIs in 72 games.
Mookie Betts, Dodgers lead the National League division
The Dodgers (67-49) lead the Padres by 2.5 games in the NL West division. Bringing Betts back into the fold and at a position he’s most familiar with, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts understands the importance of finishing the regular season on a high note.
He talked about how team continuity ultimately led him to switch Mookie back to playing right field.
“We’re in a pennant race right now — we have a [2 ½-game] lead — so we have to do what’s best for the club,” Roberts said, per the Los Angeles Times’ Mike Digiovanna. “As Mookie continued to take balls [in right field], we just felt that the overall confidence in his play at shortstop in a pennant race versus right field, given what we have on the roster, it made sense for him to kick out to right field.”
With the second-best record in the National League and a 9-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Dodgers are 5-5 in their last ten outings and have been searching for consistency since their impressive streak of winning six of seven games in late July.
Los Angeles’ three-game series with the Pirates continues Saturday, with its finale on Sunday at Dodgers Stadium.
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