Dodgers expect Betts will move back to 2B or shortstop next season

SAN ANTONIO -- The job's finished as far as 2024 is concerned. But with the Dodgers bidding to repeat as World Series champions -- an elusive feat in both recent and franchise history -- the real work is just beginning.

No team has had back-to-back titles since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000. None of the Dodgers' eight championships came in consecutive years. The question is not whether to go for it, but rather how to go about it.

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General manager Brandon Gomes gave one indication of a change that should have intriguing ripple effects for the Dodgers, announcing that Mookie Betts will likely move back to the infield and play either second base or shortstop in 2025.

"For Mookie, winning is always No. 1," Gomes said on Wednesday at the General Managers Meetings. "So I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s like, ‘Hey, this is the best thing. I’ll play wherever.’ I think catching is probably out of the realm of possibility, although I’m sure he would be good at that as well.

“But yeah, I think it’s a lot of conversations with him as well. I know the toll on the body is less in the infield for him. So you can make arguments on both sides of it. But the beauty of Mookie is [he’s] the most selfless superstar we’ve ever been around. And that permeates through the team.”

A six-time Gold Glove Award winner in right field, Betts entered Spring Training last year expecting to move to second base. But following Gavin Lux's defensive struggles to start the spring, Betts instead shifted over and became Los Angeles' everyday shortstop entering the regular season.

Betts remained at shortstop until he fractured his left hand on June 16. When he returned nearly two months later, Betts was initially expected to resume his shortstop duties, but manager Dave Roberts reversed course at the last minute and instead moved Betts back to right field.

Miguel Rojas handled the majority of the shortstop reps down the stretch before Trade Deadline acquisition and NLCS MVP Tommy Edman took over the starting job for much of the postseason.

Betts' return to the infield gives L.A. flexibility in upgrading other parts of the roster, particularly the outfield. Edman and Lux are still under club control and Rojas' option for 2025 was exercised, so the Dodgers could consider trading from their surplus of middle infielders.

Under the status quo, it was going to be difficult to bring in outfield help while also potentially re-signing Teoscar Hernández, who is likely to decline his qualifying offer in favor of a multiyear deal. With Betts in right field, Hernández would primarily start in left. That leaves center field, but the Dodgers have solid in-house options in Edman, Andy Pages and James Outman.

Shifting Betts to the infield would open up a corner-outfield spot, which could allow the Dodgers to take a shot at wooing top free agent Juan Soto. Perhaps more realistically, Dalton Rushing, the team's top prospect and No. 39 overall according to MLB Pipeline, began getting reps in left field midway through 2024 and could have a clearer path to the big league club.

But Gomes reiterated that the team is still discussing how to handle the transition one step at a time.

"I mean, these conversations were like, 'Hey, let's figure out Mookie and how he fits into the infield,'" Gomes said. "It could be second, it could be short. We don't really know yet. We need to continue to have those conversations. But I think it's much more [that] Mookie's looking to get back in the infield more than anything else."

L.A., naturally, is not ruling out adding another middle infielder if it gives the team a better chance of making a repeat championship run. The added challenge is upgrading the roster without sacrificing the chemistry that allowed the Dodgers to succeed through adversity in 2024.

There's little flashiness in versatility, but Betts brings his superstar-caliber play to wherever he is needed. And that gives the front office more options in constructing a roster that strikes the right balance.

"We're always trying to figure out moves to just be the best possible team we can be, and a lot of times those things overlap, and sometimes it means that we have to make hard decisions," Gomes said. "It's not a perfect science by any means. But winning another championship next year is at the forefront, and then putting the pieces together around that is … more art than science."