Dodgers To Activate Mookie Betts On Monday - MLB Trade Rumors

May 11th: Betts has now been officially reinstated, with Freeland optioned as the corresponding move. Jack Harris of the California Post reported earlier today that Freeland would be sent down for Betts. May 10th, 10:55pm: The Dodgers and Espinal renegotiated the 45-day deadline attached to the advanced consent clause in Espinal’s contract, Katie Woo writes.  Under the previous clause, the Dodgers could have released Espinal within the first 45 days of his contract and owed the infielder only the prorated portion of Espinal’s $2.5MM guaranteed salary.  The reworked clause pushed forward that 45-day deadline, which Woo views as a sign that Espinal will be kept on the active roster, so Kim or Freeland will be optioned upon Betts’ return. 3:34pm: Mookie Betts has been out for over a month with a right oblique strain, but he is now on the cusp of returning to the Dodgers. After two rehab games, Betts is returning to Los Angeles today and is expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list tomorrow, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic. Betts only made 32 plate appearances with a 99 wRC+ before landing on the 10-day injured list on April 5. That’s a negligible sample size on its own, though it also mirrors Betts’ diminished offensive output in 2025. In 150 games, he batted .258/.326/.406 with a 104 wRC+. That still made Betts an above-average hitter, but not to the heights he has set in his career. Betts won the AL MVP award with the Red Sox in 2018 and was at least 31% better than average by wRC+ in every season from 2019-24. It’s hard to criticize a hitter for merely being slightly above average, of course, and Betts’ track record gives the Dodgers plenty of confidence that he can return to normal as he distances himself from this injury. There is also reason to believe Betts was unlucky last year. For one thing, he batted just .258 on balls in play, well below his career BABIP of .299. While Betts’ 89.1 MPH average exit velocity and 35.8% hard-hit rate were both lower than in 2024, his batting average, slugging percentage, and wOBA were all 9-16 points lower than their expected values. Betts’ relative lack of offensive pop was offset by his superb defensive work at shortstop, and of course he was still a big contributor to the Dodgers’ second consecutive World Series victory. Even this year, losing Betts for over a month hasn’t slowed Los Angeles down, as the 24-15 Dodgers are again atop the NL West. The duo of Hyeseong Kim and Miguel Rojas have capably filled in at shortstop during Betts’ absence, and Kim in particular has performed well, hitting .301/.366/.411 over 82 PA this season.  Rojas will return to backup infield duty once Betts is back at shortstop, leaving the Dodgers to decide between Kim, Santiago Espinal and Alex Freeland at second base.  Kim and Freeland have minor league options remaining, while Espinal (who has only a .438 OPS over 34 PA) would have to be designated for assignment if removed from the 26-man roster.