Dodgers End the Mookie Betts Shortstop Experiment

J.P. Hoornstra | Aug 9, 2024

Aug 5, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Mookie Betts (50) fields ground balls prior to the game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium. Dodger players wore #MaxStrong shirts during pregame to honor Max, the 3-year old son of first baseman Freddie Freeman (5), who was diagnosed with Guillian-Barre syndrome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Mookie Betts shortstop experiment is over.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Friday that Betts, who's made 11 starts at second base and 61 at shortstop this season, will play neither position once he's activated from the injured list Monday.

Roberts told reporters Friday at Dodger Stadium that Betts is going back to right field.

The decision comes days after Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations, said Betts would play a "decent amount" of shortstop upon his return. What changed?

More news: Will Dodgers' Mookie Betts Stay at Shortstop? Andrew Friedman Reveals Plan

"To be quite honest we talk every day about it," Roberts said. "It wasn't about 'hey something happened' and 'hey this is what we need to do now.' ... It's essentially reading the room, me and him talking. That's part of my job, is to get a feel for where he's at and where the ball club's at.

"This is something we both feel, the organization feels as well, this is the best thing for the Dodgers in 2024."

Dave Roberts said Mookie Betts will exclusively play right field when he returns. Here’s why: pic.twitter.com/ffzqzysq4F

— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) August 9, 2024

Stating the obvious, Roberts noted the Dodgers have two above-average defensive shortstops on their active roster in Miguel Rojas and Nick Ahmed. Tommy Edman, who is expected to make his Dodgers debut when he's activated from the injured list next week, is capable defensively both in center field and at shortstop.

Gavin Lux is, by one metric, the second-best hitter in the National League since the All-Star break and is effectively limited to playing second base.

For all the progress Betts made from March to June, when a 98-mph fastball struck his left hand, causing a fracture, he's at best the fourth-best defensive shortstop on the team once he and Edman return.

"Each player, wherever they're playing defensively, they've got to feel most confident," Roberts said. "You have to then layer in what's best for the ball club. Where we're at, he is most confident right now in right field versus at shortstop."

"You look at how Gavin (Lux) is playing, he's earned the right to continue playing second base for us. So you have essentially two Gold Glovers at shortstop (Rojas and Ahmed). Weighing everything in — the teammate, the comfort, the performance — now moving forward that's what we came to."

The argument is keeping Betts at shortstop was to maximize the offense from the position. But Lux and Rojas' emergence as a capable hitters (Rojas is slashing .270/.314/.403, good for a 102 OPS+) makes that less of an upgrade that perhaps it seemed in March.

As for Betts, he's spoken often about his willingness to move around the field as the team needs dictate. Betts finished second in the National League MVP race last year in large part due to that versatility.

Now, after being handed second base in spring training and moving to shortstop when Lux faltered there defensively, he's moving back to the position where he won six Gold Glove awards.

One would assume — and perhaps Betts hopes — it's his last position change of 2024.