Over the last few years, Major League Baseball has worked on marketing to a global audience. This includes playing games in other countries in an attempt to bring the game closer to the rest of the world.
To begin the 2025 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs will meet in a two game series in Japan known as the Tokyo Series. This two-day series will put a few of the faces of baseball, including Japanese stars Shota Imanaga, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki, on display in the Tokyo Dome.
But not everything can be perfect for an event like this. Recently, Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts has been battling an illness and his availability for the Tokyo Series has come into question.
Is Mookie Betts playing in the Tokyo Series?
To get right to the point, no, Mookie Betts will not be playing in the Tokyo Series.
“He’s not going to play in these two games,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When you’re dehydrated, that’s what opens a person up to soft tissue injuries. We’re very mindful of that.”
Starting in Betts’ place will be veteran infielder Miguel Rojas. Rojas slashed .283/.337/.410 on 103 games with a WAR over 3.0. While missing Betts is a huge blow for Los Angeles, Rojas is a fine replacement.
Mookie Betts’ update takes a turn from bad to worse
But the situation with Betts is much worse than it seems on the surface. Roberts recently revealed Betts has lost over 15 pounds since contracting flu-like symptoms. With him down a significant amount of weight like that, it’s unlikely Betts is near full-strength. The risk of injury and poor performance are both increased during a time like this.
While this is supposed to be a showcase of the best players in the world on a national stage, it’s important that the Dodgers don’t risk the health of one of their best players. Gaining this weight back quickly and effiecintly will be the key to the Dodgers seeing Betts return to the field at full strength.
It likely won’t have any long term impact on the star utilityman, but if the Dodgers would have risked it and let him play in the Tokyo Series, the situation could have gotten much worse.
Who Will Replace Dodgers’ Mookie Betts in Tokyo Series Against Cubs?
Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts will miss both games in the 2025 Tokyo Series, which starts on Tuesday.
The reports say that Betts was dealing with a nasty flu-like illness before the team traveled to Japan, and things have only worsened. Manager Dave Roberts explained that Betts has lost up to 15 pounds, and the team is debating sending Betts home so he can fully rest up before Opening Day
So who will replace Betts in the Dodger’s order for the two-game set against the Chicago Cubs?
Per The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, veteran Miguel Rojas will start both series games at shortstop, with both Cubs starters being left-handers.
Many fans were looking forward to watching Betts at shortstop, but he is undergoing a positional change. Rojas is still a plus defender and competent shortstop, but the lineup takes a slight step back without Betts.
Considering the left-handed starters Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele, utilityman Tommy Edman will likely slot into Betts’ second spot in the order.
The reports also say Betts’s illness is not contagious but has been bad enough to keep him away from baseball activities the past week.
Even though the teams are in the middle of spring training, both games against the Cubs will count toward each team’s regular season record.
Rojas had a solid 2024 campaign before suffering an injury. He hit .283 in 307 at-bats and struck out just 34 times.
The hope is that Betts will recover from this illness within the next 10 days and be ready for Opening Day against the Detroit Tigers.
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