The Los Angeles Dodgers rolled into Colorado fresh off a sweep of the San Diego Padres, but their momentum stalled in a frustrating 4-3 walk-off loss to the last-place Rockies on Monday night. The defeat was punctuated by two critical miscues from right fielder Teoscar Hernández, and it may have triggered a conversation about bigger changes.
After the game, reporters noted that Mookie Betts met privately with manager Dave Roberts and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman in Roberts’ office. Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times wrote:
“After a 4-3 walk-off loss to the last-place Colorado Rockies — a loss set up by two poor plays from right fielder Teoscar Hernández — Mookie Betts met with manager Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, in Roberts’ office.”
The contents of that meeting remain undisclosed, but the timing has fueled speculation.
Hernández’s Defensive Struggles
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Hernández, signed for his bat, has struggled in the field all season. According to Baseball Savant, he ranks in the third percentile in Fielding Run Value. Those shortcomings were on full display Monday.
In the ninth inning, with the game tied, he misplayed an Ezequiel Tovar fly ball that should have been the second out. Instead, Tovar reached second, and Warming Bernabel followed with the game-winning hit. Earlier, in the third inning, Hernández threw to the wrong base on another miscue.
Roberts did not sugarcoat the situation afterward:
“He’s got to get better out there, and there’s just no way to put it,” the Dodgers’ manager said. “It’s not a lack of effort, but I think the thing is that… we just got to kind of get better. We do, and so yeah, I don’t know what else to say.”
Hernández, for his part, acknowledged the mistake but defended the difficulty of the play:
“We were playing no doubles, and like you said, it’s a big outfield. 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,” he told Dodgers Blue.
Betts Back to the Outfield?
Given the context, one possibility is that Roberts and Friedman were discussing moving Betts back to right field — a position where he has won six Gold Glove Awards. Such a switch would allow Hernández to shift to left field, a less demanding defensive spot, while also opening shortstop for a natural infielder such as Alex Freeland or utility man Tommy Edman.
This would not be unprecedented. Just last season, Los Angeles made a similar adjustment, moving Betts back to the outfield down the stretch. The change paid off as he played a critical role in the team’s 2024 World Series run.
The ripple effect this year could also involve Michael Conforto, who has struggled offensively all season (.190 average), potentially losing regular at-bats if Hernández slides into left.
Baxter of the Times noted:
“The Betts conversation afterward was private. But the circumstances that led to it were not. One way to (get better) is to move Betts back to right field… Sending Betts to right and moving Hernández’s bat to left in place of Michael Conforto (who is hitting .190) might be one way (for Roberts) to voice his displeasure.”
Betts’ Own Season
It’s also possible the meeting was about Betts himself. While his defense at shortstop has been steady, the 32-year-old is posting his least productive offensive campaign since arriving in Los Angeles. That said, his bat has shown signs of life in recent weeks, hinting at a possible turnaround as the Dodgers aim to peak in October.
Big-Picture Stakes
At 71-54, the Dodgers lead the National League West but have not yet established themselves as the juggernaut many expected. Roberts has described their play as “middling” at times, and the outfield instability is one of several issues the club must resolve before the postseason.
A move to return Betts to right field could solve multiple problems at once: shoring up defense, reducing late-game mistakes, and redistributing playing time among struggling veterans. But it would also mean conceding that the Betts-at-shortstop experiment has not produced the hoped-for balance.
For now, the Dodgers are not tipping their hand. But the private meeting between Betts, Roberts, and Friedman suggests that decisions are being weighed carefully — decisions that could shape the rest of their season and their push for a second straight championship.