For Mookie Betts, the numbers say it all. The Los Angeles Dodgers star has built a career on elite consistency, but by his own admission, 2025 hasn’t measured up.
“This season’s over,” Betts told The Athletic. “My season’s kind of over. We’re going to have to chalk that up for not a great season.”
It wasn’t a concession to defeat so much as a frank acknowledgment of reality. Betts—one of baseball’s most respected players—has struggled statistically, posting career lows in batting average (.239), on-base percentage (.309), slugging (.371), and OPS (.680). Even so, the Dodgers remain firmly in the hunt for another World Series, and Betts intends to keep playing his part.
“I can go out and help the boys win every night, do something, get an RBI, make a play,” he said. “Obviously everyone wants to have great seasons, but it’s a lot easier when you just don’t worry about the season. You just worry about game to game. I’ll take this perspective for the rest of my career.”
That shift in mindset seems to have sparked a subtle rebound—Betts is 6-for-his-last-12 with a home run—and it also coincided with a notable defensive turn.
Back Where It All Started
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In Monday night’s Freeway Series opener against the Los Angeles Angels, Betts returned to right field for the first time in 2025. The six-time Gold Glove winner began the game at shortstop, his primary position this season, but moved to his old stomping grounds in the bottom of the eighth. Manager Dave Roberts made the switch with the Dodgers trailing 7–0, sliding Miguel Rojas into shortstop while giving Betts a few late innings in familiar territory.
It was a seamless transition—Betts handled the first ball hit his way cleanly, drawing cheers from the Dodger faithful who remember his highlight-reel days patrolling the outfield.
What It Means for the Dodgers
The move comes amid a season of positional juggling for the Dodgers, largely due to injuries in the infield. Tommy Edman (ankle) and Hyeseong Kim (shoulder) have both missed significant time, keeping Betts at shortstop far longer than initially expected. Recent outfield acquisitions, however, could give Roberts more flexibility to deploy Betts where his defensive value is highest.
Through 107 games, Betts is hitting .242 with 12 home runs and 53 RBIs—numbers well below his pace at this point last year, when he was batting .289 with 19 homers. Still, as the Dodgers push toward October, his role may be defined less by stat lines and more by situational impact.
For some fans, the return to right field rekindles an old debate: is the Dodgers’ defense at its best with Betts anchoring the outfield or the infield? With the NL West race tightening and postseason matchups on the horizon, Roberts may soon have to decide.
What’s clear is that Betts, despite writing off his own season statistically, has no intention of fading quietly. Whether it’s a key at-bat, a game-saving catch, or a position change on the fly, he’s still aiming to influence the games that matter most.