With injuries piling up, the Los Angeles Dodgers may soon turn to a new starting shortstop: Mookie Betts. Betts, a six-time Gold Glove right fielder, has not played shortstop since the lower levels of the minors in 2013, but he could start at short when he returns from the paternity list, manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday.
"There's a chance I might slide him over to shortstop. He looks extremely natural. The guy can play anywhere on a baseball field," Roberts told MLB.com. "... 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."
The Dodgers may have to turn to Betts at shortstop because they have been decimated by injuries at the position. This is their shortstop depth chart at the moment:
- Gavin Lux: Out for the season with a knee injury.
- Miguel Rojas: Placed on injured list Wednesday with a hamstring issue.
- Chris Taylor: Day-to-day with left side discomfort.
- Yonny Hernández: Activated off Triple-A injury list and called up Wednesday.
- Luke Williams: Utility man has never played shortstop on a regular basis.
Williams replaced Rojas at short Tuesday night and is starting Wednesday's game at the position. With Rojas sidelined, Williams could be the starter at shortstop until Taylor is able to play or until the Dodgers put Betts at short.
Betts, 30, was drafted as a shortstop back in 2011, though the Boston Red Sox moved him to second base in 2013, then the outfield in 2014 in part because they were set with Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia as their double play combination. Mookie has played 35 big-league games at second base, including five this year, but he's never played shortstop at the MLB level.
"I think when you're talking about the third string at any position, there's some things that have to happen that you just got to kind of get through. But to have Mookie as your third string at anything, I think teams can be doing a lot worse," Roberts told MLB.com. "... He's been clamoring for quite some time, so we'll see how it plays out."
Betts missed Tuesday's game and will miss Wednesday's game while on the paternity list, which has a maximum stay of three days. He will return no later than Friday.
The Dodgers are 9-9 with a plus-21 run differential in the early going this season. They are two games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West.
