Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts was removed from the lineup on Wednesday, July 1st, without any notice.
The Dodgers announced that Betts was in the batting order, sitting in his usual No. 4 spot.
Betts is being replaced by Miguel Rojas at shortstop, and the Venezuelan will end up batting in seventh.
Before the game, manager Dave Roberts explained that it is officially a wrist injury and the team is looking to err on the side of caution.
Betts has already missed time on the injured list with an oblique strain, and another injury could stop his offensive progress.
The righty went 3-for-5 on Tuesday, raising his batting average to .244. His mechanics and swing as a whole look quite put together and the best that they have been all year long.
Betts started out as a way-below-average hitter, but he has risen to league average, posting a 103 wRC+. Additionally, with his defensive work especially in focus, he has racked up a 1.3 fWAR.
For context, through June 21, Betts had an 84 wRC+ and had an offensive rating of -3.7, according to FanGraphs.
Why has Mookie Betts started hitting the ball better?
Betts has continued to get rough batting luck, with a .234 batting average on balls in play. This number was much lower earlier in the season, indicating there was a good amount of bad hitting luck that was affecting him.
Naturally, as it has risen, so has his offensive production. For Betts, there has not been much in the way of an approach change, rather just continuing to grind behind the scenes.
“Just hit it,” Betts said. “Just see the ball, and hit it. …Now, I mean, it’s just really, really hard. So the less things I can think about, you want to focus on the ball.”
Hopefully, Betts is not gone for too long and comes back soon to keep his hitting going.
