LOS ANGELES — A world-class athlete, seemingly adept at every sport he tries his hand at – from baseball to bowling to pickleball – Mookie Betts has a simple explanation for the injury that sidelined him for the weekend.
“Just clumsiness, I guess,” Betts said.
Betts suffered a fracture of the fourth toe on his left foot in the most mundane of ways – he got out of bed in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.
“I just stubbed my toe,” he said. “Whatever you picture, getting out of bed, that’s exactly what happened. We all have done it. I just so happened to fracture a toe. I’m sure we all have some fractured toes from stuff like this.”
Betts said the only treatment he has received for the injury has been Aleve. But the pain had diminished enough Sunday that he was able to walk “pretty normal” and put on a shoe. He went through some preliminary drills and hopes to be back in the lineup in “the next couple of days.”
Betts said defense is his first concern, and he won’t return until he can “make sure I move to make plays for those guys. Hitting, hopefully, that comes along.”
Hitting has been more of an issue than defense for some time before the toe injury. Betts’ offseason dedication to improving as a shortstop has paid off. He ranks among the top handful of shortstops in the National League by virtually any metric.
At the plate, though, Betts is having a decidedly down year, batting .257 with a .742 OPS. In his last 15 games before the injury, Betts was 12 for 58 (.207).
Betts is putting the ball in play at the highest rate of his career. But he is hitting it hard less often. Statcast shows his barrel percentage (4.3) and hard-hit percentage (36.8) are the lowest of his career and hIs average exit velocity this season (89 mph) is his lowest since 2017.
“I’m not sure, man,” Betts said of what is behind those numbers. “I wish I knew, then I would answer it. But I don’t have any real excuses or anything.”
His season has now been interrupted twice by health issues. He suffered with a virus at the start of the season that caused him to lose a significant amount of weight.
“I’m not frustrated by any means. It’s all part of life, all part of it,” Betts said. “You gotta take the good with the bad. I’m not frustrated. I wouldn’t even call it an obstacle. It’s just whatever.
“Things have been just kind of all over the place. I just kind of reel it in, but I wouldn’t blame those things for anything. I think the season’s been going how the season’s been going. We’ve been playing pretty well, and so that’s all that really matters.”
One thing Betts is sure of – his work and focus to become better at shortstop is not a factor in his down season so far offensively.
“I mean, you can point to it and try to make it about shortstop, but it’s not about shortstop,” Betts said. “Because remember, last year, I was playing pretty well, playing at shortstop. I had no idea what I was doing. Now, I’m way more confident in how I show up and prepare each and every day. The shortstop argument can’t be it.”
REHAB ROUNDUP
Right-hander Emmet Sheehan took another step forward in his recovery from Tommy John surgery by making a rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday. Sheehan pitched three scoreless innings, striking out five and not walking a batter. He allowed two hits – a broken bat infield single and a bloop single. He threw 39 pitches, 27 strikes and got 10 swings-and-misses.
Right-hander Edgardo Henriquez made his second rehab appearance in the same game, pitching a scoreless inning but walking two batters.
Right-hander Michael Kopech made his ninth and likely final rehab appearance for OKC on Sunday. He faced four batters in a scoreless inning, allowing a walk and striking out one. Kopech’s results have been uneven during his rehab. He has walked 11 and struck out 10 in 6⅓ innings, resulting in a 15.63 ERA. But his velocity has been good – he hit 101 mph Sunday.
“The hope is if it goes well that we’ll get him back sometime this week,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Meanwhile, Kirby Yates has recovered well from his hamstring injury and is scheduled to throw another bullpen session this week with a simulated game likely to follow. The sim game should be enough, Roberts said, and Yates won’t be going on a rehab assignment.
“Next weekend is something we’re keeping an eye on” for Yates’ possible return, Roberts said.
ROSTER MOVE
Right-hander Luis Garcia became the 15th pitcher on the Dodgers’ Injured List Sunday. He suffered a strained adductor muscle while covering first base in the ninth inning at Cleveland on Tuesday.
Right-hander Noah Davis was promoted from OKC to replace Garcia. Davis has made three appearances with the Dodgers this season, allowing four runs in 2 ⅔ innings.
UP NEXT
Mets (RHP Paul Blackburn, 1st MLB start of 2025) at Dodgers (RHP Dustin May, 3-4, 4.20 ERA), Monday, 7:10 p.m. SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market only), 570 AM
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