LOS ANGELES -- After Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman missed the Dodgers’ season-opening games in Tokyo, both were in the original lineup for Sunday evening’s Freeway Series exhibition, a 7-1 win against the Angels at Dodger Stadium.
Come time to play, only Freeman remained.
Betts, who has been dealing with an illness that has caused him to drop approximately 15 pounds and led to the Dodgers sending him home from Tokyo early, was removed from the batting order about 90 minutes before the game started after a bout of vomiting. Miguel Rojas stepped in at shortstop.
According to Betts, he has thrown up every time he has eaten solid foods for nearly two weeks. He first noticed symptoms ahead of the Dodgers’ Cactus League finale on March 11. Betts can keep down liquids, such as smoothies, and received an IV while in Tokyo, but anything else has proven too challenging on his stomach. A specific diagnosis has yet to be determined.
“I mean, I feel great,” said Betts, who is down to 157 pounds from the 175 he weighed at the start of Spring Training. “Like, my body feels great. I've been able to work out. I've been able to do pretty much everything but eat, which is strange. So the symptoms have kind of gone away, I just have to figure out how to get my stomach to kind of calm down.”
Betts said he has undergone blood work and vital tests that have all come back clean, and he has begun taking a new medication. But another day or two of these issues and he expects to undergo more extensive testing. Betts will not play on Monday at Angel Stadium, and his status for the domestic opener on Thursday against the Tigers is doubtful.
“It's just hard to fathom not eating and going to play a game,” said Betts. “So it looks like I'm just going to be light for a little bit. Maybe I play uphill a little bit for the beginning of the season. But no, I just want to play, man. I'm tired of sitting, tired of throwing up, tired of doing all this. I really just want to play.”
The Dodgers had slated Betts to take two at-bats and play three to four innings in the field on Sunday, with plan being the same for Freeman. The first baseman, who has been experiencing left rib discomfort, grounded out out softly twice and made four plays on defense with no issue. He was replaced at first base by Kiké Hernández in the top of the fifth inning. The Dodgers intend for Freeman to get three at-bats and play five to six innings on Monday.
“The last couple of days, he feels really good, doesn't feel anything,” Roberts said of Freeman. “But I do think that it's something we got to make sure we monitor. But he wouldn't be out there if we didn't feel confident that he's on his way back.”
Freeman was scratched from the Dodgers’ first regular-season game against the Cubs at Tokyo Dome on Tuesday shortly before first pitch. He did not play on Wednesday, either. He first sustained the rib injury during the 2024 postseason, battling through it for an unforgettable World Series MVP performance.
“I know it was the last round of his batting practice for that first game [in the Tokyo Series],” said Roberts. “The thought was it might be some scar tissue that was in there that just sort of broke up. And so just to kind of be cautious, we just felt that we should abort, which was a smart decision, I think.”
Losing multiple regulars would be a blow to any team, especially two with MVP pedigrees like Betts and Freeman. But the Dodgers managed to win their two Tokyo Series games without them. And while they certainly hope they won’t be without either for most of the season, they know they’re equipped to absorb the damage.
“Obviously, we've had a lot of great rosters, but this is the most talented roster,” said Roberts. “... To see you lose two of your best players 48 hours before Opening Day and still kind of move forward is pretty remarkable. And to kind of keep guys sharp, relevant, to make sure I get those guys that are on the bench current, keep them relevant -- it’s probably the most flexibility that we’ve had.”