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A week before coming off the injured list in August, Mookie Betts took hundreds of grounders at shortstop, something that became routine for him once he made the move to the position at the end of Spring Training.

This time, however, as Betts came off the field, he looked encouraged. Breaking his hand in mid-June and being forced to miss two months was a tough blow for the Dodgers, but it also came with a silver lining. Betts, who was thrown into the fire at shortstop with little time to prepare, was treating his rehab as his own version of Spring Training.

But as Betts was set to return from the injured list, the Dodgers and the six-time Gold Glove winner in right field mutually decided that it was in the team¡¯s best interest for Betts to go back to the outfield. The rest is history, as the Dodgers won the World Series in 2024 with Betts playing right field exclusively down the stretch.

In 2025, Betts will get another chance to play shortstop. Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes made that official during the Winter Meetings, announcing Betts was going to be given an opportunity at the position.

"He's ready for the challenge," Gomes said. "He feels like, with a full offseason, he can go and tackle that. Like we've said before, he's one of the guys that I certainly wouldn't bet against."

In his time at the position last season, Betts graded out well in terms of getting to balls laterally. After all, Betts is the best pure athlete on the team and perhaps the entire sport. What he struggled with, however, was his throwing. That was unexpected for Betts given that he has one of the strongest arms from the outfield.

But what Betts learned was that the throwing motion in the infield is much different than launching a throw to home plate from the outfield. With a full offseason to work on that, Betts and the Dodgers are confident that he can fix that issue and be an above-average Major League shortstop despite the limited reps throughout his illustrious career.

¡°Right now, as the roster is kind of where it¡¯s at, [it] continues to give us a lot of flexibility,¡± said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. ¡°It¡¯s an easy bet to bet on him with the full offseason. ¡­ Obviously, there¡¯s some things that can change, but all the confidence in Mookie.¡±

Going into Spring Training, Betts¡¯ ability to play the position at a high level will be one of the question marks the team will have to contend with. For Betts, staying engaged with challenges usually brings out the best in him. He felt rejuvenated when taking on the task of playing shortstop. His desire to eventually move away from the outfield has been well documented.

Now, Betts understands that it¡¯s all about performance. The Dodgers will give him every opportunity to make the transition yet again. If it doesn¡¯t work out, the Dodgers are well positioned to make changes.

Tommy Edman, who now figures to be the everyday center fielder, can slide in at shortstop just as he did during the postseason. At this stage of his career, Miguel Rojas likely can¡¯t handle the grind that comes with being an everyday shortstop, but he's still one of the best defenders at the position. Chris Taylor is also capable of playing shortstop in a pinch.

The Dodgers have plenty of options. But it all starts with Betts showing improvement and handling shortstop, this time for an entire season.

¡°I 100 percent believe in my abilities. I believe I can [play shortstop]. I think it¡¯s the challenge that I really, truly loved,¡± Betts said in August. ¡°I just haven¡¯t been challenged in a long time. So that task, that challenge to accept and be able to play shortstop in the big leagues, and help the Dodgers? I was going to take it on, and I¡¯m happy I did. I¡¯m definitely proud of myself for doing that.¡±