Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts had a minor setback in his recovery from the oblique injury he sustained earlier in April.
Betts exited the Dodgers’ eighth game of the season against the Washington Nationals earlier in the month, having he strained his oblique, and has been on the injured list since. He has slowly ramped up since, and began swinging the bat again last week.
Per The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, though, Betts’ resumption of on-field activity set him back a little. Ardaya says Betts felt some soreness after he began taking batting practice on the field, so the Dodgers temporarily slowed his program.
On the bright side, Betts said he has “turned a corner” in his recovery and believes he’s ready for on-field BP once again.
Mookie Betts said he felt some soreness in his oblique a couple days back when he started taking BP on the field. So they backed off. He’s been hitting in the cage the last couple days and feels he’s “turned a corner” for them to try to start that up again.
The Dodgers have also spoken about when Betts could begin his rehab assignment, with manager Dave Roberts reportedly saying he could play in a minor league game as soon as the weekend of May 1-3.
The Dodgers’ shortstop had a rough first couple of series at the plate, though so did the rest of the Dodgers. Betts batted .179 through the first eight games of the season, hitting two home runs and tallying seven RBIs during that stretch.
He had a .179/.281/.429 slash line for a .710 OPS before he landed on the injured list.
The Dodgers called up Hyeseong Kim to take over for Betts at short, and have platooned the left-handed hitter with veteran Miguel Rojas for most of the month.
Rojas previously split time with Alex Freeland at second base, but has relinquished a majority of the reps to the 24-year-old since Betts’ move to the injured list.
Kim has had a great run since coming up to MLB, batting .283 through 20 games and posting a .754 OPS. He has a home run and seven RBIs to his name, and has also stolen five bases. Rojas has also been incredibly impressive this season, posting a .871 OPS through 18 games so far. He’s batting .349 on the year and has a .500 slugging percentage this month.
With their second options performing at such a high level, the Dodgers are sure to take their time with Betts—especially due to the finicky nature of oblique injuries.
Their next challenge without the former MVP comes against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday, where they will look to take their second consecutive series win. Kim will play shortstop and bat seventh in the contest, which starts Wednesday at 12:10 p.m. PT.