Mookie Betts will be 'every-day second baseman' for the Dodgers in 2024
Mookie Betts will no longer split time between second base and right field. In 2024, he will be the "every-day second baseman" for the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to manager Dave Roberts.
Last season, Betts played 77 games in right field, 62 at second base and 12 at shortstop. He started in right field when the team faced righties, but after a conversation with Roberts, Betts will play at his preferred position, one he believes will be easier on his body at 31 years old.
"It's pretty safe to say that No. 50, Mookie Betts, is going to be our every-day second baseman," Roberts said Monday on MLB Network.
Dave Roberts talked to Mookie Betts and agreed second base would be the best position to keep him on the field for close to 162 games. Betts will play RF at times, but primarily second base. #Dodgers
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) December 4, 2023
Even splitting time between two positions, Betts helped the Dodgers win the National League West for a second straight year in 2023, and he finished second in NL Most Valuable Player voting to Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr.
Betts hit .307 with 39 home runs and 107 RBI as the Dodgers finished 100-62 and paced the NL West by a wide margin. Nonetheless, the Arizona Diamondbacks, a division foe, upset Los Angeles in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
Replacing Betts in right field next season will be lefty Jason Heyward, whom the Dodgers signed to a one-year deal. Roberts said the team will employ Heyward against righties and is looking for a right fielder to play against lefties.
"It's one of those things where [Betts] is a Gold Glover out in right field, but I think that when you're talking about putting together a roster and someone who can be so offensive at second base, you can get more games out of him if he is playing second base," Roberts said. "So now when you get a happy Mookie Betts, a guy who can play in close to 160 games, it makes the Dodgers much better."
