LOS ANGELES – Mookie Betts will continue to be the Dodgers’ shortstop.
Or at least he will until he isn’t anymore.
At any rate, the ultimate decision on his defensive responsibilities likely will be made with the pitching in mind.
Playoff time is near which means the Dodgers are about to come face to face with their demons again.
Every year since 2013 the Dodgers have made the playoffs and that run will indeed continue this season. Three times in the previous seven seasons, the Dodgers have advanced to the World Series.
But the club has just one title in their more-than-a-decade run of success. That the championship came in a shortened pandemic season is something San Francisco Giants fans wave as a flag of dismissal.
And yet, it remains hard to shake that the shortened regular season was not, at least, a small contributor to the title.
When it comes to baseball’s grand stage, the Dodgers are known for running out of pitching when the stakes are highest. Those issues weren’t as heightened in a 60-game 2020 regular season.
Year after year, the Dodgers have one of the best rotations in particular and pitching staffs in general. But in October, those pitching staffs have been overwhelmed by a tidal wave of opposing offense.
Last year, it was the Arizona Diamondbacks. Two years ago, it was the San Diego Padres. The Atlanta Braves dealt the decisive blow in 2021, as revenge for the Dodgers’ victory over them in the 2020 playoffs.
Going back pre-pandemic, it was the Washington Nationals that hit their way past the Dodgers in the playoffs. The Boston Red Sox got them in the 2018 World Series and the trashy-can Houston Astros did the same in 2017.
A similar uncertain pitching situation has been unfolding this season.
Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow (31) delivers to the plate in the third inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Right-hander Tyler Glasnow was added in the offseason and he has embraced his role as staff ace. Right-hander Jack Flaherty was added at the trade deadline and the duo will form the 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation come playoff time.
Think of it. A pair of pitchers who have not been on the inside of the Dodgers’ run of 11-consecutive playoff appearances will be at the forefront of the latest trophy quest. Or maybe that is a good thing. Old Dodgers demons are not their demons.
Which brings it back to Betts, who was believed to potentially be in line for a return to the outfield when he comes back from a broken hand. Betts in the outfield full time and, say, Miguel Rojas, at shortstop, would improve the Dodgers’ defense immediately and put the pitching staff in a strong position to succeed.
But the plan, for now, is to have Betts play the infield in order to get as much offense into the lineup as possible. Although the way manager Dave Roberts framed the decision to have Betts to play shortstop again, as early as next week’s visit to Milwaukee, seemed to come with a caveat.
“... At the outset we’re going to have (Betts) play short,” Roberts said this week.
While Roberts did not get into it, the “outset” part seems to mean that an alternate plan most likely exists and it might not necessarily be the in-case-of-emergency-break-glass scenario.
Rojas could indeed be back at shortstop this week, when he is expected to return from a forearm injury. Betts would then take over at short next week, with Rojas taking over at third base until Max Muncy returns, which is trending to be sooner than later.
A Muncy-Betts partnership on the left side of the infield is not the Dodges’ best defensive setup, which could move Rojas back to shortstop again, while Betts logs time in the outfield or at second to give Gavin Lux a break against left-handed pitching.
Lux has been on an offensive revival of late, even winning National League Player of the Week honors for the short week after the All-Star break. But he still isn’t facing much left-handed pitching, with 35 plate appearances against lefties all season.
Whatever the defensive alignment, Dodgers pitchers could use all the help they can get. The starting staff still is trying to overcome injuries, with Clayton Kershaw showing in his third start of the season Tuesday that he has enough left in the tank to be effective.
But after Glasnow and Flaherty, who is the No. 3 starter come playoff time? It figures to be right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, if he can return from a strained rotator cuff. Otherwise, it is Kershaw or rookie Gavin Stone, who lately has been the effects from his first full season. Stone’s 111 2/3 innings are approaching his high mark of 131 2/3 set last season between Triple-A and the major leagues.
A recovering Walker Buehler (hip) also will make a case for himself down the stretch.
Then there is the bullpen, which has received a shot in the arm at the trade deadline with the arrival of right-hander Michael Kopech, but there isn’t a set closer at the present time.
Those old Dodgers playoff pitching questions continue to persist after all these seasons.
It means the decision on who plays shortstop can’t be taken lightly. Betts said he is embracing a return to the position and has been diligently working out on the infield this week. But will he stay at shortstop for the long term?
“Yeah, we’ll see. We’ll see,” Roberts said. “Those are those questions that we have to figure out and how it all plays out.”