LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts is expected to be out of the starting lineup for the final two games of the weekend series against the Yankees, manager Dave Roberts said. Betts stubbed one of the toes on his left foot at his home on Wednesday night and is considered day to day.
X-rays on Betts' left foot revealed a fracture at the tip of his fourth toe. He will potentially be available to pinch-hit in a big spot, but the Dodgers are not planning on using him on the basepaths or in the field.
Roberts said he does not expect Betts to need an IL stint, and the short term will be more about pain tolerance.
"Once we get the swelling out, get the pain to subside a little bit, it’s going to be the whole, ‘It is what it is,’ for quite some time," Roberts said Saturday. "So probably don’t think that four days vs. 14 days or 15 days [on the IL] is going to make much of a difference.”
L.A. has already dealt with a spate of injuries -- mostly to the pitching staff -- this season. The team also announced on Friday that righty reliever Evan Phillips will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery next week. So Betts' absence from Friday's lineup set off some alarm bells.
But Betts' injury appears to be more short-term and fluky, similar to when Freddie Freeman aggravated his surgically repaired right ankle by slipping in the shower in early April. (Freeman ended up going on the 10-day IL for a minimum-length stint.)
"It just keeps coming. It's Murphy's law," Roberts said Friday. "But yeah, this is a weird one."
Betts, who is hitting .254 with a .742 OPS in 53 games this season, had initially been expected to play on Friday, but he felt some pain when putting on his shoes. Miguel Rojas and Hyeseong Kim have filled in at shortstop while Betts is sidelined.
"We'll figure it out," general manager Brandon Gomes said. "We'll handle it on the front end and make sure he's fine whenever he gets in there. It's a good part about having depth. Keep the train moving."