LOS ANGELES — While the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees are embracing the euphoria of their World reunion at Dodger Stadium, limping out of the Dodgers’ clubhouse wearing socks and sandals was one of the game’s biggest stars not named Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge.
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts — the MVP, eight-time All-Star, six-time Gold Glove winner and three-time World Series champion — will be missing all of the festivities, thanks to a freak injury.
Betts was at home in Los Angeles on Wednesday night after the Dodgers returned home from Cleveland, and sometime during the night while walking in his bathroom, he badly stubbed the fourth toe on his left foot when he bumped into a piece of furniture.
The toe turned out to be broken.
The Dodgers don’t anticipate that Betts will need to go on the injured list, but ruled him out for the Dodgers’ weekend series against the Yankees. They hope he can return to the lineup Tuesday when they finish their homestand with a three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians followed by the Boston Red Sox, Betts’ former team.
“It’s a fracture at the tip of the toe,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “so it’s basically kind of what he can tolerate. And the last couple of days, it’s been hard for him to even put on a shoe.
“But I still don’t believe it’s going to be an IL stint. I think day-to-day is fair right now.’’
The Dodgers started Miguel Rojas and Hyeseong Kim in his place the first two games of the series, and when Betts returns, they don’t believe he can make the injury worse by playing on it.
Betts, 32, has gotten off to a slow start in 2025, hitting .254 with a .743 OPS and eight homers, but the Dodgers have been pleased with his defense and plans to keep him at shortstop the rest of the season.
Shohei Ohtani making progress toward pitching return
Meanwhile, on the pitching front where the Dodgers have 14 pitchers on the injured list, they are encouraged by the progress made by Ohtani. Before Saturday’s game, he pitched to hitters for the second time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023.
Ohtani, facing minor-league hitters and rookie catcher Dalton Rushing, threw 29 pitches over two innings, and had no setbacks. His control wasn’t as sharp as last week, but everything is on track for Ohtani to pitch again in late July or early August.
He will continue to DH for the Dodgers, where he has hit a major-league leading 22 homers, and won’t make any minor-league rehab starts. He instead will continue to build his arm strength simply through simulated games, and won’t be ready for major-league action until he reaches at least six innings.
“I think the thing that’s most impressive is his ability to compartmentalize,’ Roberts said. ‘I mean, he’s essentially doing the work of two players. And to still go out there and perform on the offensive side, it’s pretty remarkable.”
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