Mookie embracing 'unfinished business' at shortstop

This story was excerpted from Sonja Chen's Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- In the mornings at Camelback Ranch, Mookie Betts and the rest of the Dodgers' infielders can be found on a practice field taking ground ball after ground ball, making throw after throw to first base.

While Betts spent the offseason working toward a return to shortstop, this week marked the first time the baseball world at large has gotten to catch a glimpse of his progress.

Betts shifted to shortstop midway through last spring, a move made partially out of necessity. His most recent big league game at the position was last June 16, when he fractured his left hand on a hit-by-pitch and missed nearly two months. When he returned, he went to right field, where he's won six Gold Glove Awards.

"He certainly felt he had unfinished business," manager Dave Roberts said, "and he popped out to right field because it was the right decision at that time given our roster. But I do feel that ¡­ he wanted to really give himself the best chance to be a top performer at short."

Last season, Betts was candid about the difficulty of transitioning to shortstop. He impressed with his range and showed some good natural instincts with fielding the position, but he struggled with throwing. Eight of Betts' nine errors across 531 1/3 innings at shortstop were throwing errors.

Veteran infielder Miguel Rojas has been helping Betts work to improve at shortstop. The two communicated throughout the offseason and worked out together at times, and Rojas has passed on plenty of expertise about the position he's played the most in the big leagues.

When it comes to translating Betts' strong throwing arm from the outfield to the infield, Rojas said the key is to find the right throwing slot, which changes depending on where in the infield he's throwing to.

Understanding those distinctions can help the rest of the pieces fall into place.

"He looks way more comfortable," Rojas said, "especially on the throwing side. ¡­ Finding your slot is very important, because you throw the ball from a different position than when you throw it in right field. He's not throwing the ball way too much over the top or on the bottom."

Betts has certainly looked confident whenever he's uncorked a throw from shortstop this spring. It's been some time since he's been able to test himself at the position in a game situation, but every low-pressure repetition builds muscle memory that should prepare him for the real thing.

"It's two grades better already," Roberts said. "Action-wise, confidence-wise. There was some uncertainty, rightfully so, last year. Where just the confidence is extremely high right now."

If Betts not only succeeds, but excels, in his move to shortstop, he would be in unprecedented territory. Only two players have won Gold Glove Awards at multiple positions: Darin Erstad and Placido Polanco.

Erstad is the only one to have won a Gold Glove as an infielder and as an outfielder.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Betts could be chasing an achievement that cements his legacy as a Major Leaguer. But he's also made it clear that he finds achieving greatness with his team to be most rewarding.

"It's definitely something different," Betts said. "But I'm just doing what's best for the team, what I feel like is best for the team. If it's here, it's here. If it's right, center, doesn't matter. I feel like I'm a baseball player, and as long as I put a glove on, I feel like I'm going to be pretty good at it."