Take a deep breath, Los Angeles Dodgers fans. It sounds like Mookie Betts may have avoided serious consequences with his left foot injury and could potentially be back with the team when the Dodgers host the San Diego Padres beginning on Monday night.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Mookie Betts could return soon from foot injury
According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Betts will once again be out of the Los Angeles lineup on Sunday when the team finishes up a road trip with a matinee in Washington against the Nationals.
After Betts departed loanDepot park in Miami on crutches following L.A.'s 10-0 blistering of the Marlins on Thursday night, there was plenty of concern about his condition. However, Roberts has said that multiple tests have shown a bone bruise in Betts' left foot and nothing more.
On Friday, Roberts told reporters, "We'll see if we can get him back on Monday," when referring to Betts and his next potential return date to the field. That would coincide with the opening of what was expected to be a tense three-game series at Chavez Ravine between the Padres and Dodgers. However, San Diego's season has gone off the rails and the Padres are left playing little but spoiler, entering Sunday's play 8.0 games out of a National League Wild Card spot.
Betts, meanwhile, is expected to return and keep up his push to earn NL MVP honors. Through 133 games, Betts is slashing .314/.411/.609 with 38 home runs and 99 RBI. His 38 homers are already a career-high and he is well within reach of his career-high 113 RBI, established during a 2016 season when he finished as the American League MVP runner-up while with the Boston Red Sox.
Losing Betts for an extended period of time could have been a tough blow to the Dodgers' hopes of returning to the World Series. However, it appears Los Angeles won't have to wait long to have their MVP candidate back in the lineup.
