Remember This: Don't Panic!
Mookie Betts has a broken hand, and the sky is falling because the world has ended. Un… no! Betts had his hand broken by a 98 MPH fastball thrown by Dan Altavilla. This is baseball, and stuff happens. There will be no big trades in the immediate future. Sorry to break it to you…
Mookie Betts has a broken hand, and the sky is falling because the world has ended. Un… no! Betts had his hand broken by a 98 MPH fastball thrown by Dan Altavilla. This is baseball, and stuff happens. There will be no big trades in the immediate future. Sorry to break it to you, but Andrew Friedman and the Dodgers have a plan or six, and they will not make any dope fiend moves. In fact, this could be the best thing that happens to the Dodgers this year. I have often found that problems are opportunities in drag.
“What possible good could come from this?” Well, maybe Mookie Betts won’t be worn down and tired in October after resting for two months. Don’t get me wrong. the Dodgers will be looking everywhere for an SS or another bat, but they will make a calculated move that makes sense, and it will likely be at the trade deadline… not now. The Dodgers have two viable SS options: Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor. Kike can also play there, but it’s not his best position. Miggy Ro will likely start tonight. Sometimes, an injury like this galvanizes some players on the team. For instance, Gavin Lux doesn’t have to look over his shoulder for a while and see if Mookie is breathing down his neck.
I think it is easy to shuffle the lineup with the fastest player on the team moving up to leadoff. It makes zero sense to move one of the bottom-of-the-order hitters up. So, this is likely what we will see tonight as Cal Quantrill goes for the Rock Heads:
- Ohtani DH
- Freeman 1B
- Smith C
- T. Hernandez LF
- Heyward RF
- Rojas SS
- Pages CF
- Lux 2B
- Biggio 3B
At 30, Michael Peterson has never pitched in the majors but can hit triple digits. The Dodgers have tweaked his delivery, and he has a 1.61 ERA and a 0.72 WHIP at OKC. Michael Grove went on the IL with an Intercoastal Strain, which cost him about six weeks last year; Pederson may fill his role. JP Fetereisen is back, and we are all waiting for him to return to the form he displayed in 2021 and 2022, when he was virtually unhittable. Yamamoto’s injury (a rotator cuff strain), can range from mild to severe, depending on the extent of the damage. Mild strains may only cause minor discomfort, while more severe strains can lead to significant pain and loss of mobility in the arm. Of course, the treatment regimen includes rest, ice, and steroids, and later, it evolves into physical therapy. The Dodgers have not said how severe his strain is (nor will they), but I would guess he will be out at least six to eight weeks.
Clayton may be back in early July. Bobby Miller will be back this week, and Walker Buehler is still a work in progress. Kyle Hurt may be back this month, but Brasier, Kelly, and Max Muncy are still a ways away. Landon Knack will likely play a role as well. I would also think that we will see James Outman return soon and maybe Lipcius, but that will involve moving some vets. That may happen… but not just yet. This will be a process, and we shall watch it play out. The Dodgers have an eight-game lead and the Padres have their own problems. The Dodgers can put it on cruise control for a while, but you may see good things come out of this injury. Vargas will likely be back as well. Patience Grasshoppers!
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Discussion (70)
Disagree, not disagreeable
time to play Vargas every day with Mookie out for the foreseeble future.
If games in June are that unimportant as we are regularly told and that the Dodgers will make the postseason not matter what put the kid in every day. I would even let him play some 3b to get his bat into the lineup. So what if he makes a few errors there ? We were not concerned with Mookie making errors at ss or Muncy at 3b.
With Rojas at ss, Lux at 2b and FF at 1b we still would have excellent overall infield defense.
Cartaya finally is showing again what made him a top prospect couple years back. But the Dodgers are only playing him 3-4 days a week and it is tough to get into a good ryhtm that way.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!