Mookie Betts Calls Dodgers’ Decision to Move Him to Right Field ‘Mostly Mutual’
The Dodgers will have a new right fielder when they play the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, one with six Gold Glove awards at the position on his resume.
To say Mookie Betts is a perfect fit for the Dodgers’ inconsistent outfield is an understatement.
Still, it took a few conversations between Betts and manager Dave Roberts to get on the same page. Roberts announced Friday that Betts agreed to his third position change this year.
Betts began spring training as the Dodgers’ second baseman, then quickly shifted to shortstop when Gavin Lux struggled at the position early in Cactus League play. The latest change, he said, was a “mostly mutual” decision.
“I just want to win,” Betts said.
Roberts made it clear that the (mostly) mutual understanding was achieved over a series of conversations between him and Betts.
“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.”
Betts made 72 starts this year before a 98-mph fastball struck his left hand in June, causing a fracture. He had started every game either at shortstop or second base.
For all his desire to remain on the infield, and all the improvements he’d made at shortstop since March, in the end Betts was a victim of his own past success in right field.
A move back to second base was effectively not an option because of Lux’s shortcomings on defense. Since the All-Star break, Lux has been, by one metric, the second-best hitter in the National League but is limited to playing second base.
The Dodgers will install Tommy Edman in center field once he’s activated from the injured list; Edman is set to begin a minor league rehab assignment Saturday with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The team’s other outfield options have been inconsistent with the bat, the glove, or both. Andy Pages had the most success at the plate, but he is slashing .244/.301/.378 — a pedestrian 92 OPS+ — and struggling at times to handle center field.
Kevin Kiermaier, a four-time Gold Glove winner in center field, has a 51 OPS+. Jason Heyward, Kiké Hernandez and Chris Taylor are all better with the glove than the bat.
Other than left fielder Teoscar Hernandez, the Dodgers simply haven’t gotten the two-way production they hoped for from their outfield in 2024. Starting next week, that figures to change.
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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Reading between the lines it sounds like Mookie isn’t crazy about moving back to RF. Maybe taking one for the team so to speak, and while he’s an absolute stud out there, IIRC he seemed happiest when he was at 2nd. Less wear and tear on the bod. But he wants to win, and OF has been a problem this year with the exception of Teoscar.