{"id":10035,"date":"2024-12-12T07:40:15","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T07:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=10035"},"modified":"2024-12-12T07:40:15","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T07:40:15","slug":"breaking-mookie-betts-shortstop-move-gets-vote-of-confidence-from-dodgers-exec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=10035","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Mookie Betts’ shortstop move gets vote of confidence from Dodgers exec"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mookie Betts is preparing to play shortstop full-time for the Dodgers in 2025.<\/p>\n

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\"Dodgers<\/p>\n
As the\u00a0Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a>\u00a0prepare their World Series defense, the team has\u00a0already committed to Mookie Betts playing shortstop<\/a>. The former MVP is still fresh in his move to short, but the Dodgers remain confident in Betts’ ability to thrive.<\/p>\n
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All of Betts’ time at shortstop in the major leagues has come over the last two seasons. He played 16 games at the position in 2023 before accumulating 65 in 2024. Betts had a .972 fielding percentage at shortstop in 2024, making nine errors. But\u00a0with a full offseason of knowing where he’ll play<\/a>\u00a0under his belt, President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman thinks it’ll be a seamless fit, via MLB Network.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat’s what he’s training for this offseason. To know Mookie, you wouldn’t bet against him,\u201d Friedman said. \u201cHis mindset is, \u2018I know exactly what I need to do and I’m going to attack it everyday.’ I will let let fools on the other side of the table bet against him. We certainly would not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis ability to get off the ball, his range, the hands all played well above average,\u201d Friedman continued. \u201cHe had a hard time getting to his arm. He’s an extreme arm talent. It’s just body positioning and learning and timing. He had to hit the ground running last year. He said he’s going to attack it right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The majority of Betts’ major league games have seen him play outfield, right field to be exact. However, the Dodgers re-signed Toddy Edman and\u00a0brought Michael Conforto in on a $17 million deal<\/a>. They still have Andy Pages and James Outman, as well as Chris Taylor who could play anywhere. Ultimately, Betts’ defensive services were more needed in the infield.<\/p>\n

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But no matter where Mookie Betts is playing defensively, Los Angeles is counting on his bat in the lineup. He is coming off of a 2024 campaign that saw him hit .289 with 19 home runs, 75 RBI and 16 stolen bases. Betts was named to the All-Star Game for the fourth-straight season and eighth time overall.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers know they have the talent to win the World Series. In moving Betts to short, Los Angeles is just maximizing their talent for another deep playoff run.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mookie Betts is preparing to play shortstop full-time for the Dodgers in 2025. As the\u00a0Los Angeles Dodgers\u00a0prepare their World Series defense, the team has\u00a0already committed to Mookie… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING: Mookie Betts' shortstop move gets vote of confidence from Dodgers exec - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=10035\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Mookie Betts' shortstop move gets vote of confidence from Dodgers exec - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mookie Betts is preparing to play shortstop full-time for the Dodgers in 2025. 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