Dodgers must reconsider long-dismissed change as Mookie Betts continues to struggle

Despite a lot of highly-publicized struggles and plenty of fan resistance last year, Mookie Betts has actually become a pretty decent everyday shortstop for the Dodgers. In 2024, he posted -4 OAA after moving there in spring training when Gavin Lux made it clear he wasn't going to be able to hack it. The Dodgers moved Betts back to right field after he returned from a two-month absence with a broken hand, but then flip-flopped back to short during spring training this year.

Now, will Betts win a Gold Glove at shortstop (his professed goal for the season)? No. But his +1 OAA, putting him in the 72nd percentile of qualified shortstops this year, is a dramatic improvement.

However, while Betts' defensive performance has improved, his offense has suffered one of the worst dips in his career. Dave Roberts swapped him and Shohei Ohtani in the lineup on July 20, hoping to give Betts more opportunities and perhaps take some pressure off when batting with bases empty, but nothing changed. He hit .186 with a .498 OPS before Roberts swapped them again on Sunday.

Betts insisted that the struggles were mechanical, but Roberts said that there could be a mental aspect at play. After months spent insisting that his move to shortstop wasn't affecting his offensive performance, Betts finally conceded that he "didn't know" more recently.

It might not be a magic fix, but can the Dodgers really claim that they've tried everything — other than move him down in the lineup, which Roberts seems resistant to do — if they don't give Betts a few reps back in the outfield and see how things go?

It might finally be time for Dodgers to move Mookie Betts off of shortstop as he continues to struggle offensively

Betts has a grand total of six Gold Gloves for his work in the outfield. When he moved back there last season, it looked like he'd never left. Why not take him off a position that's more mentally and physically demanding and move him back to a place where he's oftentimes been among the league's best?

He said of the slump on Sunday, "I've done everything possible. It's just kind of the same result. I'm out of answers. I've done everything I can do. It's up to God at this point."

There are a lot of other things that could be going into this slump. He missed a few games at the start of the season because of a virus, and lost his step-father, which kept him out of the Dodgers' series opener against the Red Sox last week. He has to be running into some mental obstacles, so why don't the Dodgers try to remove one, especially with Alex Freeland newly up in the majors and LA in need of a outfield upgrade from Michael Conforto? It's worth a shot, at least.