10:55 p.m: The Dodgers and Espinal renegotiated the 45-day deadline attached to the enhanced opt-out clause in Espinal’s contract, Katie Woo writes. Under the previous clause, the Dodgers could have released Espinal within the first 45 days of his contract and owed the infielder a split portion of Espinal’s $2.5MM guaranteed salary. The reworked clause moves that deadline forward 45 days, which Woo sees as a sign that Espinal will be kept on the active roster, so either Kim or Freeland will be selected if Betts returns.
3:34 p.m: Mookie Betts he’s been out for more than a month with a right oblique strain, but is now on his way back to the Dodgers. After two games to rehab, Betts returned to Los Angeles today and is expected to be placed on the 10-day injured list tomorrow, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic.
Betts made just 32 plate appearances with a 99 wRC+ before landing on the 10-day injured list on April 5. That’s a negligible sample size in itself, though it also reflects Betts’ diminished offensive output in 2025. In 150 games, he hit .258/.326 with an A+ . That made Betts an above-average hitter, but not at the height he set for his career. Betts won the AL MVP award with the Red Sox in 2018 and was at least 31% better than average in wRC+ every season from 2019-24. It’s hard to criticize a hitter for being slightly above average, of course, and Betts’ track record gives the Dodgers plenty of confidence that he can get back to normal as he steers clear of this injury.
There is also reason to believe that Betts was unlucky last year. First, he hit just .258 on balls in play, well below his career BABIP of .299. While Betts’ average exit velocity of 89.1 MPH and 35.8% slugging percentage were both lower than in 2024, his batting average, slugging percentage, and wOBA were all 9-16 points lower than expected values.
Betts’ lack of offensive pop was offset by his excellent defensive work at shortstop, and of course he was a major contributor to the Dodgers’ second consecutive World Series victory. Even this year, losing Betts for more than a month didn’t slow Los Angeles down, as the 24-15 Dodgers are back on top of the NL West.
The duo of Hyeseong Kim again Miguel Rojas they have filled in powerfully at shortstop in Betts’ absence, and Kim in particular has done well, hitting .301/.366/.411 over 82 PA this season. Rojas will return to backup infield duty once Betts is back at shortstop, leaving the Dodgers to decide between Kim, Santiago Espinal again Alex Freeland on second base. Kim and Freeland have minor league options remaining, while Espinal (who has just a .438 OPS over 34 PA) will have to be selected for assignment if he is removed from the 26-man roster.
