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Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers

It’s being reported that Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts may be at risk of missing their opening series against the Cubs in Tokyo. The reigning World Series champion has been dealing with flu-like systems all week, which caused him to miss the last two Dodgers Cactus League games.

Mookie Betts has been a sensational player in his career and has a laundry list of accomplishments. The thirty-two-year-old is an 8x All-Star, 6x gold glove winner, 7x silver slugger, and a 3x world series champ. His 70.3 career bWAR puts him right on the cusp of being top-100 in MLB history. He is no doubt a first-ballot Hall of Famer and one of the best players of this generation.

The diagnosis is grim

When asked about the status of Betts, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said “Mookie is here today, but he’s been really sick. Lost some weight, so we’re trying to get him hydrated. He’s going to work out a little today, but he won’t be playing either tonight or tomorrow. Then, when we have our off day, our workout day, we’ll see how he is.”

The Dodgers have no exhibition games remaining after their win against the Yomiuri Giants by a score of 5-1 on Saturday.

After that, they get ready to play a Cubs team who are also not 100% healthy.  Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner will miss this series. Hoerner will be rehabbing his arm injury back in the States.

When asked about his health Betts replied by saying “I’m alive” to a local reporter. This quote was intended as sarcasm but may paint the picture of just how much the illness is affecting him. The Dodgers hope that hydration and extra sleep will do more than keep him “alive” and help him to be ready to play.

Making the switch to shortstop

This season, Betts will be making the transition to shortstop full-time. His positional versatility is an incredible asset for the Dodgers. Last season Betts split time between Second (18 games) Right field (43 games) and Shortstop (65 games). While constantly rotating defensive positions, Betts maintained his excellent offensive output. His slash line of .289/.372/.491 with a .863 OPS was a bit below his career marks but was still very good.

Unfortunately, his -4 Outs above average at short last season were below average. But he should be given some grace given his inexperience in the position. Most players would transition away from short to the outfield in their later years, but Betts did the opposite. After spending the majority of his career as a Right fielder, the Dodgers have experimented with him at short since 2023.

Ironically he was originally drafted as a second baseman by the Red Sox in 2011. In his career, he has appeared in eighty-one games as a shortstop, all with the Dodgers.

With Betts’s status up in the air for the opening series the Dodgers will turn to Miguel Rojas to man shortstop in his absence. Last year Rojas had a nice season slashing .238/.337/.410 for a .748 OPS and 113 OPS+. His veteran presence will be leaned on during this time. The Dodgers lineup has plenty of firepower with or without Betts. But his temporary absence certainly evens the scales for the Cubs a bit more.