The Los Angeles Dodgers rolled into Colorado on a high note, fresh off a sweep of the San Diego Padres. That momentum came to a screeching halt Monday night in a 4-3 walk-off loss to the last-place Rockies — a defeat punctuated by two costly miscues from right fielder Teoscar Hernández.
After the game, reporters observed Mookie Betts in manager Dave Roberts’ office with the president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman. Given the timing, speculation ran wild: was this the beginning of a bigger shakeup?
A Routine Check-In, Not a Closed-Door Summit
Vote For Your Favorite Dodgers Duo: Ohtani – Yamamoto, Betts – Freeman, Hernandez – Hernandez
Betts and the Dodgers quickly downplayed the scene. Speaking with reporters — including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic — Betts explained he had only stopped by to discuss his swing.
“I popped in to reiterate how good I feel about my swing,” Betts said.
Ardaya noted on social media that “the door was open as media entered last night so everyone saw Betts in there, and it isn’t an uncommon occurrence for a player or coach to be in there.”
Roberts echoed that message, stressing that Betts’ visit was hardly unusual.
“Mookie pops into my office all the time,” Roberts said. “We were just talking about his swing. I wanted him to check in with me about where he’s at, certain checkpoints as we get through the season and that was a check-in. I hope too much wasn’t made of that.”
Roberts also made clear that the Dodgers have not discussed shifting Betts back to right field. “We haven’t talked to Mookie about right field at all this season,” he said. “He’s an above-average defender at shortstop, and that’s where he’s staying.”
Hernández’s Defensive Issues Come to the Fore
The timing of the conversation, however, is difficult to ignore. Hernández, signed for his offensive upside, has been a defensive liability in right field. Baseball Savant ranks him in the bottom five percent of outfielders in fielding run value.
Monday’s loss offered a painful illustration. In the third inning, Hernández threw to the wrong base, allowing a Rockies runner to take an extra bag. In the ninth, with the game tied, he misplayed an Ezequiel Tovar fly ball that turned into a double. One batter later, Warming Bernabel delivered the game-winning hit.
Roberts did not sugarcoat the situation:
“He’s got to get better out there, and there’s just no way to put it,” Roberts said. “It’s not a lack of effort, but the defense is a big part of postseason baseball and winning baseball. He’s just got to continue to get better.”
Hernández, for his part, owned the mistake but defended the difficulty of the play. “We were playing no doubles, and it’s a big outfield,” he said. “I was really far and tried to make a play. I didn’t; it came off my glove, unfortunately. Things happen. I’ve just got to wash it and keep moving forward.”
Would a Mookie Betts Move Solve Multiple Problems?
The Dodgers have resisted calls to return Betts to the outfield, where he has won six Gold Gloves. At shortstop, he has graded out as above average defensively, and Roberts has repeatedly voiced his confidence in him at the position.
Still, the idea lingers. Shifting Betts back to right would immediately upgrade the defense, allow Hernández to move to left — a less demanding role — and potentially cut into Michael Conforto’s at-bats (.190 average this season). It would also resemble the adjustment the Dodgers made last year, when Betts returned to right field down the stretch en route to a championship run.
Such a move would not come without cost. It would be an admission that the Betts-at-shortstop experiment, while serviceable, is less valuable than maximizing the overall outfield alignment.
Betts’ Bat Starting to Heat Up
Lost in the noise of the meeting speculation is that Betts may be finding his stride at the plate. Over his last 12 games, he is hitting .333 with two home runs, nine RBIs, and an OPS of .889 — a welcome rebound after the worst slump of his career earlier this season.
That offensive turnaround could make the idea of moving him less appealing to Roberts, who values continuity and balance as much as defensive stability.
The Bigger Picture
At 71-54, the Dodgers hold first place in the NL West but have not yet looked like the juggernaut many expected. Roberts has described their play as “middling,” and defensive lapses remain one of the biggest concerns heading into October.
For now, the club insists Betts is locked in at shortstop, and that his meeting with Roberts and Friedman was nothing more than a routine check-in. But the reality is that postseason baseball often demands bold adjustments. If Hernández’s struggles continue and the defense costs Los Angeles more close games, the Dodgers may have no choice but to revisit a familiar solution: putting Mookie Betts back where he has always been at his best.