Mookie Betts was seen shaking and flexing his left hand during his at-bat in the fifth inning on Sunday. This was due to an apparent left middle finger injury. He did not seem to be in a lot of pain, but you could tell he was bothered by it. This shaking, opening, and closing of his fist started after he hit a foul ball. It is unclear at this time exactly what caused the discomfort. It looked like a shock injury from a foul ball hit off of the handle of the bat, but there was swelling. The x-rays after the game came back negative—a positive sign for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Betts smashed an opposite-field homer into the pool despite his apparent finger injury, so there is reason for optimism. Finger injuries are tricky in baseball though. His left hand is his glove hand, so throwing the ball will not be affected. What will be affected is gripping and swinging the bat in the coming days. These types of injuries can linger because of the fact that Mookie uses that finger in the field and while batting. Almost every time he catches a ball in his glove, it hits his middle finger. It opens and closes his glove as well, so while even warming up in right — whether playing catch or catching a flyball — he is affected.
Outlook for Mookie Betts
Hopefully for Mookie, the Dodgers, and Dodger fans, it was just a stinger from a foul ball off the handle and he is fine. Dave Roberts has plenty of options off the bench because the Dodgers are so deep. Mookie can have all the time he needs to rest it. Edwin Rios came in for Betts in the seventh on Sunday. He is another Dodger who is off to a promising start in 2020. Rios is batting .273 with a pair of homers, a double, and four RBI in 11 AB. We will see how it plays out, but with the homer and negative x-rays, it does not seem too serious. Regardless of the depth of the team, Mookie Betts is a major loss. Hopefully he is back on the field in a day or two. He is listed as day-to-day in the mean time.
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