Before he became a Gold Glove and MVP-winning right fielder, Mookie Betts began his professional baseball career on the infield dirt as a second baseman. Roster constraints for the Dodgers have brought Betts back to the keystone in 2023, and now, they’ll push him into uncharted territory: shortstop.
An injury to Chris Taylor and Miguel Rojas’s struggles offensively have forced some creative thinking on the part of manager Dave Roberts, who has confidence in Betts’s ability to adapt to a new position.
“He looks extremely natural,” Roberts said, per MLB.com’s Juan Toribio. “The guy can play anywhere on a baseball field … I think there were some reservations about him playing second base last year and he quickly put those to bed. So it’s going to be the same thing.”
