Mookie Betts has played a stellar shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers but it’s been accompanied by an uncharacteristically poor season at the plate so far this year.
Betts did not play the Dodgers’ series opener against the Chicago White Sox, as manager Dave Roberts wanted to give him an additional day to rest and refocus.
The veteran was back in the lineup on Wednesday with an 0-for-4 night at the plate, but he did contribute to the Dodgers’ comeback victory with a game-tying sacrifice fly in the ninth inning.
“I wouldn’t say it’s going to be of concern, it’s not. And a track record like that, I would say concern is not really ever going to be on the table,” Roberts said of Betts’ ongoing slump. “I would think, what I need to see from him, I think his last swing was a really good one on a breaking ball, drove in the tying run.
“I think that just putting good swings, taking walks, which if you look at the walk percentage in this kind of rut that he’s in, it’s probably much lower than his career.
“So kind of getting into counts, getting on base, and squaring the baseball up. Which, again, he’s only as good as his last one. His last one was pretty good, so hopefully can build off that.”
Hitting breaking balls and making solid contact consistently has been two of Betts’ biggest issues this season, which is why his final at-bat on Thursday was encouraging. The exit velocity on Betts’ sacrifice fly was 101 mph.
Thursday’s game wasn’t perfect, but it still further demonstrated Betts’ progress.
“I think so. I hope so,” Roberts said when asked if Freddie Freeman and Betts were breaking out. “I think Freddie, going line to line, tonight. Cutter in, pulls it for a double, then a breaking ball that he stayed back and shot down the line for another double. Really good signs from Freddie.
“And then Mookie was struggling early, didn’t take good swings, couple pop ups, but to hit the split for a pull side homer, he’ll sleep well tonight.
“Got a big series against the Astros, which will be fun, and it’s a little bit of momentum.”
Betts collected another hit against the Houston Astros on Friday.
Problem areas for Mookie Betts in 2025
Swinging at pitches in the zone, making contact and avoiding strikeouts are three aspects that Betts has executed well this season. But the issue has been the type and quality of the contact he’s making, or lack thereof.
Betts is hitting line drives at a lower rate, his weak contact percentage has increased, and solid contact and barrel rates have decreased significantly. The last time Betts posted similar results in all three areas was in 2021 and 2022, which led to a decline in production.
But the issues have been more pronounced in 2025 compared to those other years, which is why Betts currently has collected fewer hits and his slugging is down.
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