Dodgers News: Mookie Betts Placed on Paternity Leave, Luke Williams Added to Active Roster
The Dodgers made a roster move on Tuesday and it wasn’t the move we expected after Chris Taylor suffered an injury last night. Instead, Mookie Betts is heading out on paternity leave as he and his wife Brianna welcome their second child. Taking Mookie’s spot on the active roster is infielder Luke Williams, who spent time with the club during spring training.
Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic was the first to report the news.
With Mookie out, Jason Heyward gets the start in right field and rookie James Outman moves up to the leadoff spot. Betts could be away from the team for upwards of three days.
In 17 games this season, Mookie is hitting just .266 with 2 home runs and 6 runs batted in. He’s still getting on base at the top of the lineup with 12 walks and a .390 on-base percentage.
Williams hit .152 with 3 home runs over 24 games with the Dodgers this spring, spending most of his time at shortstop and third base. With Chris Taylor expected to miss a few games or possibly even head to the injured list with a side issue that happened during Monday night’s game, the journeyman helps add to the infield depth for Dave Roberts.
The 26-year-old was slashing .375/.455/.696 in 14 games with the Triple-A Oklahoma City club this season.
The Dodgers haven’t announced a corresponding roster move to get Williams on the 40-man.
More to come on this story…
UPDATE:
The Dodgers announced the roster move.
