The Los Angeles Dodgers were investigated for their defense for most of the season, especially in the outfield.
With the right field player Teoscar Hernández with a outs above average ranking in just the second percentile under MLB, and left field player Michael Conforto does not show much signs of life on attack, many have called for superstar Mookie Betts to go back to the right field.
Manager Dave Roberts talked honestly about his thoughts about the switch.
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“Mookie won’t go to the right field,” Roberts told Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
This season Betts has been proven an elite short stop in his unprecedented move from the outfield, with its outs above average ranking in the 88th percentile in the Majors. Although there is still a depth problem beyond the Infield, Roberts made his position clear about where the superstar would be best used.
“If you’re talking about shortstop game, you’re looking for consistency and I just loved consistency,” said Roberts. “He has made every piece that he should make, and the last few weeks he has made spectacular plays. He has been a large part of the occurrence of runs.”
The production of Betts on the record was a slow start this season after a stomach bug from the spring training had held him for the first two games of the season (and lost almost 20 pounds), a broken toe later in the year, and the unfortunate death of his stepfather last month.
So far he seems to turn things around in August and .278 with a .750 Ops this month.
Roberts concluded how phenomenal Betts has been in defense, and especially with his attack that shows signs of life again, it seems that he will stay with Shortstop.
“At the moment it is all instinct instead of the technical part of it, how to do this or that,” said Roberts. “I think he is free to just be a Major League shortstop. To this day I have never seen a position as Mookie has.”
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Photocredit: William Liang-Imagnen Images
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