Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts will miss their season-opening 2-game series in Tokyo, Japan due to a lingering illness. The Dodgers will face the Chicago Cubs in the first two games of the 2025 MLB regular season Tuesday and Wednesday at the Tokyo Dome.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Monday that the All-Star infielder has lost nearly 15 pounds and needs to rehydrate and gain strength before returning to play. Roberts said: “The thing is when you lose a lot of weight, when you’re dehydrated, that’s what opens a person up to soft-tissue injuries. We’re very mindful of that. So to take the next week, call it, to build him back up, his strength, do some baseball activities to get ready for the home opener.”
Betts, 32, started suffering from flu-like symptoms at the team’s spring training home in Arizona the day before the team left for Japan. Roberts said if the team had known Betts’ illness would linger this long, they wouldn’t have had him travel on the long flight to Japan. Betts participated in workouts during the Dodgers’ first few days in Tokyo, but tired quickly and did not work out with the team Monday. He also did not play in exhibition games against Nippon Professional Baseball teams. He told MLB Network over the weekend: “I’m OK, I’m here. I’m alive. Working to try and get back on the field.”
Betts is making the full-time transition to shortstop this season after playing most of his career in right field and second base; veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas is expected to replace Betts in the Dodgers’ lineup.
Betts is an eight-time All-Star, seven-time Silver Slugger Award winner, six-time Gold Glove Award winner, three-time World Series winner and former American League MVP. He appeared in 1,381 games through the first 11 years of his MLB career, hitting .289 with 19 home runs and 75 RBIs over 116 games last season.
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