Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts “expects” shortstop Mookie Betts to play in the team’s home opener on Thursday against the Detroit Tigers, despite his weeks-long battle with a stomach ailment. Betts went through a full workout at Dodger Stadium yesterday, according to ESPN’s Alden González.

However, the Dodgers have yet to make any official word on Betts’ status, with other reports stating that Roberts’ expectations may be too optimistic.

Thirty-two-year-old Betts began feeling ill days before the team left for Tokyo on Wednesday, March 12th, and has told reporters he’s lost 20 pounds battling the still undiagnosed ailment. Betts traveled with the team to Tokyo but flew home early ahead of teammates to rebuild strength.

He underwent a series of tests that have all come back normal, and is currently on new medication to hopefully alleviate the problem of keeping down solid food. Fortunately for the Dodgers, the ailment is not believed to be contagious.

“This is so touchy, man,” Betts told Sean Lahey of Yahoo! Sports. “You think you feel good, and then you don’t really know. … Every time I eat something, it just comes right out.”

“The thing is when you lose a lot of weight, when you’re dehydrated, that’s what opens a person up to soft-tissue injuries,” Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com last week.

Veteran infielder Miguel Rojas will likely start at short in Betts’ absence, as he did in the two-game Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs, both Dodgers victories.

After a stellar 2024 campaign that saw him post a .307 average with 29 homers and 106 runs scored, expectations remain sky-high for Mookie, who is slated to be the Dodgers’ everyday shortstop in 2025. Betts is just 22 home runs shy of 300 for his career and could eclipse 1,200 runs and 1,100 RBIs by season’s end—milestones that solidify his Hall of Fame trajectory.