Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts hasn’t looked like himself in quite some time.
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On Saturday, Betts was benched by manager Dave Roberts in an effort to help the Dodgers star regroup after just one game back from the All-Star break. Betts had gone 0-for-4 at the plate Friday night, and Roberts felt it was best to give his starting shortstop a day off.
“He was more than willing and wanted to be out there,” Roberts said. “But for me, I wanted to take it out of his hands [so he could] have a day. I’ve talked about this before, just having players watch a baseball game. And I understand we just had four days off at the break. But still showing up at the ballpark, and not participating, watching, that’s a different mindset, psyche than being at home. So for him to come here, show up, not play, know he’s not going to play, I feel good about the work he’s going to put in today. Also, I think, for the mind it will be beneficial.”
Prior to Sunday’s series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers — when he went 1-for-5 in a new spot in the lineup as the leadoff hitter — Betts had a .178 batting average with an OPS of .506 over his last 30 games in the No. 2 spot. He’s produced career-lows in several offensive categories this season, and has yet to turn a corner after some temporary hot skids throughout 2025.
For several months, Betts was adamant that the unprecedented transition he made from right field to shortstop had no correlation to his struggles at the plate.
But after Betts failed to record a hit in the Dodgers’ first game back from the All-Star break, he didn’t sound as certain that his new position didn’t have a negative effect on him in the batters box.
“I don’t know,” Betts told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya.
After a much-needed day off, Betts returned to the Dodgers lineup for Sunday’s series finale against the Brewers. Roberts opted to make Betts the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter, rather than put him lower in the lineup.
Betts showed some improvement, going 1-for-4 against the Brewers. Perhaps the lineup change will help the shortstop return to full form.
In fact, Betts recorded the best all-time OPS (1.028) from the leadoff spot for the Boston Red Sox in 2018. Maybe being the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter will trigger some muscle memory for the Gold Glover.
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