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When news broke that Mookie Betts would be away from the Los Angeles Dodgers during their first of three games against the Boston Red Sox, it turned heads around the fanbase.
While it's no secret that Betts is having a tough season, to the point where he was benched after the All-Star break due to a particularly rough patch at the plate, missing a showdown against his former team for “personal reasons” certainly didn't sound like a good thing, especially when he was once again left out of the lineup for Game 2.
And yet, in the hour before the game, Betts' status received a major update from Dave Roberts via The Athletic's Jack Harris, breaking down why the former MVP has been away from the team and when he could see the field for LA again.
“Mookie Betts will get here around game time tonight,” Harris wrote. “TBD if he'll be available off the bench. Betts was back home in Nashville this week because of a death in the family, Dave Roberts said.”
On paper, it makes sense why LA didn't share exactly why Betts was away from the team, as losing a family member is absolutely a justified reason to take some personal time. But now that Roberts has shared why Betts has been away, any chatter about the shortstop's absence should go away.
Will Betts end up playing for the Dodgers on Saturday night? It's hard to say, as that largely depends on how he's feeling, how well players like Tommy Edman, Miguel Rojas, and Esteury Ruiz are playing, and if the game is close enough to actually require a high-leverage pinch hit.
But knowing that Betts is back with the team and will presumably be back with the team on Sunday is a win nonetheless, especially if he can recapture his vintage form and start hitting for power and average.
