Why Mookie Betts in right field always made the most sense for Dodgers

As it turns out, the Dodgers' most rational defensive configuration is with their six-time Gold Glove Award-winning outfielder playing in the outfield. 

Early last week, Betts was still taking grounders in preparation for his impending return from the injured list. As recently as last Tuesday, manager Dave Roberts said that the Dodgers planned to keep Mookie Betts at shortstop. 

Three days later, however, those plans changed. 

The shortstop experiment, for the foreseeable future, is over. 

On Friday, Roberts announced that the Dodgers would be bumping Betts back out to right field for the first time this year when the superstar returns from his two-month IL stint tonight in Milwaukee. He will play exclusively in the outfield again. 

The decision, which Betts described as "kind of a mutual thing," was divulged after Roberts and Betts had a conversation Thursday night. 

"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.' This is kind of essentially reading the room, me and him talking. That's part of my job, is to kind of get a feel for where he's at and where the ballclub is at, and this is something that we both feel, the organization as well, this is the best thing for the Dodgers in 2024."

As much as Betts enjoys playing the infield, and as commendably competent as the 31-year-old has been at shortstop — a position he had not played regularly since high school — this always seemed like the most logical move, and one that was bound to happen at some point. 

"Ultimately, I think we're getting to the place where I think many of us felt we were going to get to," Roberts said. "So, I don't think it was a bad decision by us, and I don't think Mookie regrets it, either. I think that was a great experience for him."

The Dodgers have moved Betts around frequently the past couple of years, in part to adjust for injuries on the roster, in part because they believed it could mitigate some of the wear and tear on his body from running in the outfield. But also in part because of how much the challenge has kept him engaged. Betts came up through the Boston system as an infielder. Dustin Pedroia's standing in the Red Sox infield necessitated a change. 

A decade later, he found himself back where he started. 

The Dodgers had moved on from shortstops Corey Seager and Trea Turner and were prepared to hand the reins to Gavin Lux last year before he tore his ACL in the spring. With little depth behind Lux, Miguel Rojas, who was signed to play in a utility role, ended up assuming the majority of innings at shortstop. 

Betts, meanwhile, split his time between right field and second base, logging 62 starts at the latter spot. He appeared energized by the change, putting together his best year since his 2018 MVP season. If that test weren't enough, he also got his first major-league action at shortstop, which Betts described as "a dream come true." 

Clearly, he liked playing the infield — and still does. Even now, Betts said his confidence at shortstop hasn't wavered, nor has his excitement when he gets the opportunity. 

"I 100% believe in my abilities," Betts said. "I believe I can do it. I think it was the challenge that I really, truly love."

Still, as proud as he was for taking on the challenge, he also acknowledged the reality of the situation. 

"There's got to be a point you look at the roster, and I want to put the Dodgers in the best chance to win," Betts said. 

The Dodgers could have chosen to use Betts this year the same way they did last season, playing him primarily in right field, where he has starred throughout his career, while allowing him the opportunity to work into the infield mix.

Instead, the initial plan was for him to be the everyday second baseman in 2024. 

Lux was returning from his injury and expected to again occupy shortstop, but after some shaky throws from the position in the spring, and again without a plethora of options behind him, the Dodgers made a surprising move. Rather than bump Lux over to second, move Rojas to shortstop and kick Betts out to right field — a choice that would have made sense then, and, months later, will take place now — they flipped their middle infielders, making Lux the everyday second baseman and Betts the primary shortstop. 

It was a staggering decision, considering they already had a strong defender at the position in Rojas and a substandard group of outfielders. But, again, Betts handled the change well. Despite varied defensive metrics on his work at shortstop, he ranked fifth in FanGraphs wins above replacement among all major-leaguers, trailing only Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson and Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr. among shortstops, when he fractured his hand on June 16. 

Betts had put in the work to get to that point. Hours before game time, every day, he could be found on the field taking grounder after grounder, often with Rojas by his side offering tips. Betts grew to enjoy the grind, but he also acknowledged how taxing it was both mentally and physically trying to adjust to such a challenging position on the fly. 

"People don't know, man, going to sleep at night wondering in the seventh inning, one out and a man at third, you get this backhand, you got to make a play, like that type of stuff keeps you up at night," Betts said. "Again, the challenge is fun and I embrace it, but it does keep you up at night. So, the good thing is now knowing going back out to right field, there's no play, there's nothing, that I haven't done or I'm not prepared for. So I think I can get a couple extra hours of sleep." 

After missing nearly two months, there was inherent risk in keeping him there for a Dodgers team with championship aspirations. 

Ultimately, a plethora of factors, including Betts' willingness to move despite the diligent work he had put in to prepare himself at shortstop, led to the most reasonable outcome. 

Rojas' superb shortstop defense always made him the most logical choice at the position. That he also happens to be in the midst of one of the best offensive seasons of his career only cements that reality. The Dodgers, however, have some reservations about the 35-year-old's ability to handle the rigors of playing the position every day. Their midseason acquisitions of Ahmed and Tommy Edman — all capable of playing shortstop, though Edman is expected to get most of his time in center — help mitigate some of that risk. 

"You've got to be real with yourself, the team, and do what's best," Betts said. "I preached from the beginning all I want to do is win, and I just feel like Miggy and Nick Ahmed being there, that's winning baseball." 

The Dodgers weren't going to move Betts back to second base, where Lux has been the team's hottest hitter over the past month. The outfield, meanwhile, remained a problem. Dodgers outfielders collectively rank 20th in fWAR and are hitting just slightly below league average, but those numbers are propped up by All-Star Teoscar Hernández, who has an .850 OPS. Every other regular in the outfield, including Jason Heyward and Andy Pages, who have earned the most time in right field aside from Hernández, sport an OPS under .700 this year. 

Finally, with the National League West division race suddenly heating up — the Dodgers' 8.5-game lead on July 23 shrunk to 2.5 games on Saturday and is currently at 3.5 on both the Padres and Diamondbacks entering this week — the move was expedited. 

"I would say I mostly went to them and was just like, ‘Look, listen, I believe I can do it, but I want to win, man, and I don't know if me right there is the best solution to win,'" Betts said. "They were like, ‘Hey, let's see what we can do next.' This is what we came up with."

In the end, Roberts said he doesn't believe it was a mistake moving Betts to shortstop. After all, it's not a bad thing that the Dodgers now know he can play either middle infield spot should they need him to again. 

But this was always the right choice. 

When Betts returns Monday, he'll be dealing with multiple changes. In addition to right field, he'll also be batting second in the lineup for the first time this year. Shohei Ohtani has been the leadoff hitter since Betts went on the IL, and he will remain there. Batting Betts second allows the Dodgers to split up lefties Ohtani and Freddie Freeman at the top of the lineup. 

That change, Betts believes, will be a "huge difference." 

Playing right field again? 

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's more like riding a bike," Betts said. 

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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