GLENDALE, Ariz. — The danger of the Los Angeles Dodgers playing Mookie Betts at shortstop is not that his hitting will suffer. Betts excels at compartmentalizing, separating his offense from his defense. Nor is the danger a greater risk of injury. True, shortstop is more physically demanding than second base, but Betts relished playing infield last season in part because it reduced the wear and tear on his body.
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The danger with the move, if there actually is one when talking about one of the game’s best athletes, is that Betts’ defense at short will be mediocre. Heck, it should be mediocre, considering that until last season, he hadn’t played the position since 2013, when he was in A ball. His entire minor-league experience at short consisted of only 14 games.
So, why are the Dodgers doing this, even if the decision, in the classic description by manager Dave Roberts, is only “permanent for now”? Because the team believes strongly in Gavin Lux’s bat, and wants to see if his throwing will improve moving from short to second. Because making Miguel Rojas the primary shortstop for a second straight season might be too much to ask of him at 35. And mostly, because Betts is confident he can play the position at a high level.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Betts said Wednesday, on the eve of the team leaving for Seoul, South Korea. “There is a lot of doubt out there, which is cool. That’s what makes it fun. Somebody’s going to be right. We’ll find out.”
Betts, 31, is well aware he is taking a chance, that the 16 games he played at short last season and all the grounders he took regularly in pregame work can’t make up for all the time he has missed at the position since the Boston Red Sox decided his arm wasn’t strong enough to handle it more than a decade ago.
On Monday, addressing Dodgers minor leaguers, he acknowledged, in so many words, that he could flop. But here he is, a superstar with a $365 million guarantee, the third largest in major-league history, willing to move to a more difficult spot on the defensive spectrum for the benefit of his team. Betts’ selflessness and willingness to make himself vulnerable, according to multiple Dodgers people who were present, sent the minor leaguers a powerful message.
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“He said, ‘Look, this is kind of putting myself out there for a potential to fail. But I’m willing to do it because it gives us the best chance to win,’” Dodgers farm director Will Rhymes said. “He expressed to our guys that he wanted to prove he could do it. It’s pretty clear when you listen to him he loves challenges. He loves taking them head on.”
Rhymes said he sensed Betts has “a little bit of a chip on his shoulder” from the Red Sox’s decision to move him off short more than a decade ago. If his arm wasn’t strong enough for the position then, it certainly is now. He also is motivated, Dodgers people say, by the possibility of becoming only the second player to win a Gold Glove in both the outfield and infield. Darin Erstad won two as an outfielder in 2000 and ‘02 and one as a first baseman in 2004.
“I’ve never seen a challenge presented to Mookie Betts that he doesn’t not only succeed at, but wildly succeed at,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “This is something that for years he’s talked about, his disappointment with getting moved off shortstop. Two hundred times a year, since we’ve had him, we’ve seen him taking balls at shortstop.
“As we started to work him into second base more, there’s no question in our mind that the hands play, and the range plays. And anyone who has seen him play right field knows the arm plays. Now it’s just about reps, to sync up his body to get to his arm for the different throws a shortstop makes opposed to a right fielder. And if this weren’t something he was all-in on and not only all-in on but excited about, we wouldn’t mess with it.”
Betts did fine at second last season, or more than fine, depending upon which defensive metric you believe. He tied for sixth in defensive runs saved, a cumulative stat, despite playing only 485 innings. In Outs Above Average, he was 21st out of the 40 players who had enough innings to qualify, rating just below average overall.
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In scouting terms, he might be only fringe average at short when the season begins. But would anyone put it past him to improve to average by the All-Star break and slightly above average by season’s end?
As Friedman explained, “Even an average shortstop would be a wildly valuable player,” considering Betts’ offense at the position figures to be among the best in the league.
“We don’t see it as that different than playing him at second base,” Friedman said. “The biggest difference between second base and shortstop is how much more important arm strength is at short. If the question is, ‘I can’t believe you’re going to play him at short,’ the question should have been, ‘Oh my God, you’re going to play him at second,’ a month ago.”
The downside? If Betts struggles defensively, the left side of the Dodgers’ infield, in theory, could be a problem. But Max Muncy, seeking to restore his play at third base to what it was in 2022, altered his offseason conditioning program and reported in better shape. The team also has other options at short. Rojas can start a few days a week, with Betts shifting to second. Kiké Hernández is another possibility. Chris Taylor plays in the infield as well.
Much depends on Lux, whom Friedman described as “special in the batter’s box.” Lux, 26, missed the entire 2023 season after undergoing major knee surgery. His throwing problems early in Cactus League play prompted the Dodgers to play Betts at short. If Lux can hold down second, the team could get plus offense at all four infield positions, compensating for any defensive shortcomings up the middle or at third. If not, the Dodgers will just shift to another plan.
The season is long. So much can change. A trade for a shortstop hardly is out of the question for the Dodgers — if not by Opening Day, then at the deadline. Willy Adames remains an obvious target, and the Milwaukee Brewers’ chances of contending diminished with the news that closer Devin Williams will miss around three months after being diagnosed with two stress fractures in his back.
Betts understands he can’t make up for lost time at short. Great players, though, do not like to be embarrassed. He plans to prepare as diligently as possible, and embrace the challenge of playing a position he never wanted to leave. “It’s going to be tough. But life is tough, too,” Betts said, smiling. “Can’t be harder than life.”
Put it that way, and the move doesn’t sound so dangerous at all.
(Top photo of Mookie Betts: Darryl Webb / Associated Press)