Mookie Betts starting at second base tonight

Yup.... you read the title right.

Tonight in Arizona, Mookie Betts will be starting at second base for the Dodgers. When speaking with the media this afternoon, manager Dave Roberts said that Betts approached him a few weeks back with this wild idea. He said that nothing is off the table with the former MVP, and he takes grounders every day.

In case things should get crazy come October, Betts wants to provide some additional assistance should the team need to get an extra outfielder in the game by moving Betts to second base. Hey, if this works, why not... right?

It’s unclear how much time the Dodgers plan on committing to this, but Roberts said it’s possible Betts can get another start at second base in the coming weeks, or move there during a game. In case you’re wondering, Betts actually has MLB experience playing second. He moved there during a game on August 3, 2018 for the Red Sox, playing six innings there. Before that, hadn’t played the position since 2014.

We all remember the Joc Pederson at first base experiment last season. Let’s hope this goes a little better.

News and notes

• According to Roberts, Julio Urias will start Saturday. There isn’t a decision yet on Walker Buehler and who will be starting on Sunday.
• Brusdar Graterol is dealing with some knee issues, he won’t pitch until at least Saturday
• It’ll still be some time until Justin Turner is activated off the Injured List. The earliest we can see him is potentially next week