Early in 2023, Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts made a surprising in-season transition from the outfield to the middle infield. Betts found himself picking up starts for the injury-ravished Dodgers at second base, shortstop, and his normal right field position last season. He played a near-perfect second base and earned himself the starting role at the keystone. Now, with Opening Day just weeks away, Mookie has another new position, after manager Dave Roberts named Betts as the Dodgers’ everyday shortstop.
Betts will be swapping positions with teammate Gavin Lux, who will return to second base after struggling defensively at shortstop. According to Roberts, the move sending Betts to short and Lux to second is “permanent, for now.” The Dodgers began Spring Training planning to place the 31-year-old former MVP at second base and the 26-year-old Lux at short. But after struggles with errors and inaccurate throws through six spring games, Roberts decided to move Lux back to second where he is most comfortable.
Dodgers Move Mookie Betts to Shortstop
Originally drafted as a shortstop by the Boston Red Sox, Betts spent most of his early career as an infielder before transitioning to the outfield to make room for Dustin Pedroia. Betts has logged just 16 career games at shortstop and a dozen starts which all came last season. As a shortstop, Betts committed just three errors and had a .935 fielding percentage over 98 innings. He was nearly perfect at second base with a .991 fielding percentage last year despite spending the majority of his career in the outfield. Betts has not spent enough time at shortstop to draw any significant conclusions about his ability to play the position. But given his performance at second after a decade in the outfield, it’s safe to be cautiously optimistic about Betts becoming the everyday shortstop.
While the Dodgers have said that the position change is permanent, the door to return to the original plan of Betts at second and Lux at short hasn’t been closed. Despite his limited experience at the infield’s toughest position, Mookie Betts has always thought of himself as a middle infielder. Los Angeles will look to Betts and his athleticism to strengthen the defense on the left side of the infield.
The new infield alignment will be on display in tonight’s Cactus League game between the Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds. Los Angeles opens the season on March 20th against the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea.
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