{"id":89108,"date":"2024-11-06T21:31:31","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T02:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=89108"},"modified":"2024-11-06T22:56:36","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T03:56:36","slug":"dodgers-moving-mookie-betts-infield-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/11\/06\/dodgers-moving-mookie-betts-infield-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers Moving All-Star Outfielder Back to Infield in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Dodgers are moving right fielder <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bettsmo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-06_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mookie Betts<\/a> back to the infield next year, according to <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BNightengale\/status\/1854275157814296621\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bob Nightengale of USA Today<\/a>. Dodgers General Manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gomesbr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-06_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brandon Gomes<\/a> confirmed the news, per Fabian Ardaya of Athletic.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Dodgers are planning to move Mookie Betts back to the infield, Brandon Gomes said today.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FabianArdaya\/status\/1854280069096604009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 6, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Dodgers Moving Mookie Betts Back to Infield<\/h2>\n<h3>What This Means for Mookie<\/h3>\n<p>It is not clear what infield position Betts would play. He does have some experience at <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/03\/08\/dodgers-mookie-betts-shortstop\/\" target=\"_self\">shortstop<\/a>, a position he played for the majority of 2024 before being sidelined with a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/08\/14\/mookie-betts-return-dodgers-roster\/\" target=\"_self\">broken hand<\/a>. However, second base is probably the most natural fit for the All-Star, and it&#8217;s where Betts is most comfortable.<\/p>\n<h3>Not a Lux(ury) Anymore?<\/h3>\n<p>This makes for a crowded infield in 2025 with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/e\/edmanto01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-06_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tommy Edman<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/rojasmi02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-06_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Miguel Rojas<\/a> both returning in 2o25 and sharing time at <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/10\/02\/dodgers-underrated-mvp-miguel-rojas\/\" target=\"_self\">shortstop<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/luxga01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-06_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gavin Lux<\/a> is probably the odd man out. He is one of the only Dodgers who plays a single position and faces primarily left-handed pitching. Lux was once the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2019\/07\/23\/gavin-lux-turning-heads\/\" target=\"_self\">top prospect<\/a> in the Dodger organization, but has somewhat struggled offensively at the major league level, having a career batting average of .251.<\/p>\n<p>To his credit, he carried an injury-laden Los Angeles team in July and August with a batting average near .350 and played a solid second base. He also had a crucial sacrifice fly to tie Game Five of the World Series against the New York Yankees.<\/p>\n<h3>What Mookie Means for the Dodgers<\/h3>\n<p>The Dodgers will have an open outfield spot. Will they go after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=sotoju01,soto--004jua&amp;search=Juan+Soto&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-06_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Juan Soto<\/a>? Will they <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/10\/12\/dodgers-slugger-deserves-extension\/\" target=\"_self\">re-sign<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hernate01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-06_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a>, who has made it very clear that he prefers to stay in Los Angeles? Has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/pagesan01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-06_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andy Pages<\/a> earned a permanent corner outfield spot next year? Is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/o\/outmaja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-06_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Outman<\/a> a reliable option in center field? Will they find room on the 40-man roster for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=rushin000dal&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-06_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dalton Rushing<\/a>? The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/05\/23\/examining-dodgers-prospects-callup\/\" target=\"_self\">top prospect<\/a> has made starts in left field at Triple-A Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever happens, the Dodgers are trying to get a head start on a versatile 2025 roster. Ideally, it will be a roster that has the best shot to keep them competing for World Series championships.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Dodgers are moving right fielder Mookie Betts back to the infield next year, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Dodgers General Manager Brandon Gomes confirmed the news, per Fabian Ardaya of Athletic. The Dodgers are planning to move Mookie Betts back to the infield, Brandon Gomes said today. \u2014 Fabian Ardaya [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5226,"featured_media":89121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33,1071,35],"tags":[28402,2055,2133,2816,250,1198,3899],"class_list":["post-89108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dodgers","category-mlb","category-news","tag-dalton-rushing","tag-gavin-lux","tag-juan-soto","tag-miguel-rojas","tag-mookie-betts","tag-teoscar-hernandez","tag-tommy-edman"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}