One of baseball’s biggest stars is inching closer to a return. Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts has been out since early April with a strained oblique. Below, we will dish out a timeline for when the former MVP is expected to return to the Dodgers’ lineup.
When will Mookie Betts be back and return to the Dodgers' lineup?
Betts could begin his rehab assignment as soon as this weekend. He is currently “taking batting practice in the cage,” according to MLB’s injuries and transactions page.
When Betts was initially injured, he was pegged for a return around the four-week mark. Exactly four weeks from when the injury occurred would be this Saturday, May 2.
MLB rehab assignments are capped at 20 days for position players. Betts will likely only need a week or so in the Minors, so we can pencil him in for a return to the Majors sometime around May 9.
The Dodgers begin a seven-game home-stand on May 8. MLB teams typically prefer to have a player returning from injury come back during a home-stand.
Here is a look at the Dodgers’ schedule around the time Betts is likely to return to the Bigs.
Friday, May 8: Atlanta Braves at LA Dodgers
Saturday, May 9: Atlanta Braves at LA Dodgers
Sunday, May 10: Atlanta Braves at LA Dodgers
Monday, May 11: San Francisco Giants at LA Dodgers
Tuesday, May 12: San Francisco Giants at LA Dodgers
Wednesday, May 13: San Francisco Giants at LA Dodgers
Thursday, May 14: San Francisco Giants at LA Dodgers
Friday, May 15: LA Dodgers at LA Angels
It is believed that Betts suffered a mild oblique strain. It typically only takes 1-3 weeks to recover from a mild oblique strain, but the Dodgers are obviously using extra caution with their $365 million investment.
Mookie Betts odds
When Betts does return to the Dodgers’ lineup, he will have missed at least a full month of action.
BBWAA voters will likely factor Betts’ time missed into their voting considering his total numbers at the end of the season won’t be on par with other candidates that played in more games. Fanatics’ odds reflect that likelihood as Betts was +3000 to win NL MVP on April 3, but is now +10000.
LA Dodgers odds
The Dodgers might be the only franchise in baseball that can lose an MVP-candidate like Betts for a month and not see much drop-off in team success.
Dave Roberts’ bunch has the second-best record in baseball at the moment, at 20-10.
They remain the clear favorite to win the World Series at +205. The next team on Fanatics Sportsbook’s odds board is the Yankees at +525.
The Dodgers are a heavy -3500 favorite to win the National League West.
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