Gold Glove finalists reveal has Dodgers fans eating crow over Mookie Betts debate

Last season, the Dodgers infuriated fans by taking Mookie Betts out of right field, where he won six Gold Glove Awards, to install him as their everyday shortstop.

Betts wasn't the one to initiate the change. Gavin Lux couldn't hack it in spring training, so they swapped Betts and Lux between second base and shortstop. It looked like a massive blow to the Dodgers' defense on both sides for a while. Lux seemed to get the yips at second, and Betts was suddenly playing one of the most difficult positions on the diamond.

He finished the 2024 season with a -5 OAA at shortstop and 3 DRS (defensive runs saved), and fans got ready to cheer whenever the Dodgers momentarily moved him back to the outfield, even if it proved to be temporary.

But Betts has spent 2025 quietly proving everyone wrong, and he was rewarded for it on Wednesday, when Rawlings officially named him a finalist for the Gold Glove Award at shortstop (Miguel Rojas also got a nod in the utility category).

Formal apologies go out to Mookie Betts. We were all wrong, Mookie.

Mookie Betts receives Gold Glove nomination in his first full season as Dodgers' shortstop

Betts said at the beginning of the year that his goal for the season was to win a Gold Glove at shortstop, and everyone scoffed. The Dodgers' argument for moving Betts there in the first place was basically "he's Mookie Betts, he can do anything," and everyone scoffed. Of course, he hasn't won yet, but he has a chance of edging out the Braves' Nick Allen and Cardinals' Masyn Winn for National League honors. His 17 DRS tops Allen's by five and Winn's by 15 (though both have him beat in OAA).

Even if he doesn't win, the point still stands: Betts is on his way to becoming an elite defensive shortstop, if he isn't already there. He made a team-first move to a position he hadn't played since the minors (and he logged just 112 1/3 innings in Single-A), stumbled for a bit, and then was relentless in the pursuit of bettering himself.

It's not even particularly surprising at this point, but now that there's some formal recognition of his improvement this year, it has to be acknowledged. Betts, even at 33 and even when he's struggling at the plate, still finds ways to get better.