mookie betts was placed on the injured list Sunday, April 5, 2026, after the Los Angeles Dodgers said he sustained a right oblique strain in Washington. The move came hours after he left Saturday’s 10-5 win over the Washington Nationals in the first inning, and the club recalled Hyeseong Kim from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Dodgers act quickly after Saturday exit
The Dodgers moved fast because the injury appeared early and the team did not want to push mookie betts through it. Manager Dave Roberts said the club believes the strain may have started on a check swing during Betts’ at-bat before he walked and scored in the opening inning.
Roberts did not give a firm timetable for a return, but he said he hopes the absence will be shorter than four to six weeks. Betts is hitting. 179 with two home runs and seven RBIs through the Dodgers’ first eight games, while he finished last season at. 258 with 20 homers and 82 RBIs in 150 games.
Hyeseong Kim is expected to help cover the position while Betts is out, with Miguel Rojas also in the mix. Roberts said Kim and Rojas will likely split time at shortstop, and he added that Kim is likely to start two of three games in the Dodgers’ series at Toronto that begins Monday.
Mookie Betts and the lineup shuffle
The absence of mookie betts changes more than one spot on the card. Roberts said Betts hit in the No. 3 spot in every game this season, and that the lineup will look different without him.
“He’s Mookie Betts, so it certainly changes, ” Roberts said. “But that’s the great thing about having depth that a lot of teams don’t have. A platoon at short and you feel like you’ve got good matchups, it’s not all bad and it gives other guys opportunities. But it’s a blow, for sure. ”
Roberts also said Betts is in better spirits than he was immediately after leaving the game, and that was one reason the Dodgers felt encouraged. Still, the team made clear that mookie betts will be monitored carefully before any return decision is made.
What the Dodgers are watching next
The immediate test is how Kim and Rojas handle the workload while the Dodgers continue a stretch that includes Toronto beginning Monday. The club will also be watching how quickly the oblique responds, since those injuries can limit swing strength and day-to-day activity even when a player wants to push ahead.
For now, the Dodgers have shifted from lineup planning to injury management, and mookie betts is the center of that conversation. The next update will likely hinge on how he feels over the coming days and whether the team’s estimate moves closer to the shorter end of the recovery window.
