Mookie Betts skipped the 2021 MLB All-Star Game to rest and recover from nagging injuries, which now has become known to include right hip inflammation. The trouble arose last Saturday, and Betts has been out of the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup in the three games since.
He initially was penciled in to start the series opener against the San Francisco Giants before being a late scratch. Betts did make a pinch-hit appearance in the loss, but did not start Tuesday.
“He’s frustrated. It’s something that like we’ve talked about, he’s been battling with this hip pointer all year,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“The running in Colorado sort of got to him and kind of ticked it off. Irritated it, so it’s inflamed. … He wants to be in there. Mookie understands the value of him being in the lineup, the importance of the series.
“But when you can’t go out there and be yourself, run balls down in the outfield, score from second base on a base hit, we don’t want it to be more harm than good. To stay away from him, to not have him in there, is probably the best thing right now. We’ll see where he’s at [Wednesday].”
Although the right hip inflammation is something Betts played through during the first half of the season, Roberts acknowledged this is the worst level it’s ben at.
“It’s been there, we’ve managed it, but I think sometimes something triggers and it just is inflamed. I don’t know what it was in particular, but it’s where we’re at right now,” he said. “We’re just trying to manage it. Like I said, Mookie wants to be in there for his teammates. Just can’t do it right now. Hopefully each day that passes we can get him in a better spot.”
Will Dodgers put Betts on injured list?
At the beginning of the week Roberts said the Dodgers were confident Betts would not need to go on the 10-day injured list. However, it’s certainly would appear more plausible now — if not likely — after the 28-year-old couldn’t start in a fourth straight game.
It’s conceivable the Dodgers could sideline Betts as one of the two corresponding roster moves to activating Corey Seager off the 60-day IL.
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