ANAHEIM, Calif. — Down significant weight following a bout with a gnarly stomach virus, Mookie Betts played shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday. The exhibition contest against the Angels in Anaheim was the last of three exhibition games during the Dodgers’ disjointed start to the season, but Betts’ presence on the field and in the No. 2 spot in the lineup was meaningful.
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“I feel great, guys,” Betts said early Tuesday afternoon with a smile. “Awesome. Normal.”
Betts then completed his usual pregame routine, took ground balls and hit on the field before taking three at-bats against the Angels, going hitless. He played five innings in the field, snaring a pop-up in the second inning and fielding a fifth-inning groundout from Kevin Newman. He’ll participate in a simulated game on Wednesday before the Dodgers make their final decision on his playing status.
Betts said he’ll be ready.
“Once I stepped foot on the dirt (tonight), I’m ready to go,” Betts said.
The Dodgers insist the former MVP is ready for game action. Betts has insisted he wants to play. So Betts is expected to be in the Dodgers’ lineup for their home opener on Thursday against the Detroit Tigers, continuing his much-anticipated transition to shortstop while weighing far less than his usual playing weight of 175 pounds.
Shutting Betts down to start the season was “certainly a consideration,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. But it doesn’t appear likely, even if it’s just to allow Betts to put on more weight before playing in games.
“I think it’s more been like a day-to-day situation,” Roberts said. “The conversations that I’ve had with Mookie, had with the training staff, the coaching staff, everyone feels that for today the right thing for him to do is take three at-bats versus not playing, and then tomorrow do the simulated (game), and then we’ll see where we’re at for Opening Day.
“I think right now it’s a day-to-day type thing. But I will say, I know Mookie’s expectation is to be there on Opening Day.”
What Betts is attempting is already unprecedented, but his recovery from a stomach virus only adds to the challenge.
For days before the Dodgers took off for Tokyo on March 13, Betts couldn’t hold food down. He dropped weight rapidly, so much so that the club sent him home early from the season-opening trip without appearing in a game. The flights, Betts said this week, were miserable. Tuesday marked his first game action in 16 days after dealing with what the Los Angeles Times reported was believed to be a case of norovirus. He still appears quite thin.
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Betts “turned a corner” in his recovery on Monday, Roberts said. The Dodgers’ doctors started him on a new medication to ease his stomach. He’s managed to hold down his food the last two days and went through a workout at Dodger Stadium without issues before Tuesday. He’s regained at least some of the 18 pounds he dropped over the last couple of weeks. He also said he isn’t worried about regaining strength and the rest of the weight — however long it takes.
“I’m actually stronger than I was before,” Betts said. “My body’s been perfectly fine. It’s only been my stomach. It’s literally only my stomach. I’ve been working out, doing everything perfectly normal. It was just hard to hold down food.”
Mookie Betts said he’ll be ready for Opening Day. Said getting through the game today was what he needed to know that was the case.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) March 26, 2025
That matters at the plate, though the presence of Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman (who has returned to the lineup after missing both games in Tokyo with rib discomfort) as part of a deep Dodgers lineup should mitigate that.
It matters even more at shortstop, a position that Betts devoted his winter to learning after a failed experiment there in 2024. The consistent message from the club is that playing Betts at shortstop makes the rest of the pieces on the roster click into place. The Dodgers have contingencies they’ve had to tap into earlier than expected — Miguel Rojas played both games in Tokyo, though the Dodgers have been mindful to give the veteran infielder days off.
The Dodgers have the depth to absorb a compromised version of Betts, or no Betts at all, as he regains strength. But the time Betts has already missed should raise at least mild concern, considering the massive position change he’s undertaking. Moving to shortstop means he will have few places to hide as he continues to work his way back towards his standard playing weight.
“Mookie’s a unique person and player, so I don’t want to kind of limit him if we don’t need to,” Roberts said.
(Photo: John McCoy / Getty Images)
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