Dodgers Announce Mookie Betts Injury Update Before Braves Game
The Los Angeles Dodgers are well on their way to becoming the first team since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees to win three straight World Series, as they hold the top spot in the National League West - and they've done it all, in large part, without Mookie Betts.
Betts, 33, has been key to the Dodgers' success in bringing championships back to Los Angeles, winning three with the team since being traded from the Boston Red Sox in 2019. En route to his most recent championship in 2025, Betts carried a .258 batting average, a .326 on-base percentage and a .732 OPS with 20 home runs and 82 RBIs.
In 2026, Betts appeared in eight games, batting .179 and a .710 OPS with two home runs and seven RBIs before landing on the injured list after exiting an April 4 game against the Washington Nationals with lower back pain. The injury was later diagnosed as a right oblique strain, placing him on the 10-day injured list the very next day.
Since then, Betts has been steadily progressing from his injury and is now making a significant step towards a return with the team.
Before the Dodgers take on the Atlanta Braves on Friday, the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate, the Oklahoma City Comets, shared that Betts is scheduled to play Friday and Saturday as he begins a rehab assignment.
BREAKING: Eight-time All-Star, four-time World Series champ and former MVP Mookie Betts is scheduled to play for the Comets Friday & Saturday as part of a Major League Rehab Assignment!
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) May 7, 2026
: https://t.co/eeScJIhiNv
(Note: Scheduled rehab assignments are subject to change.) pic.twitter.com/ihauVeAsHH
The Dodgers will have to see how Betts works in game action before they make a decision. His return would also reshape infield depth decisions, with Hyesong Kim putting up decent numbers in Betts' absence from the team.
For a club chasing a third straight World Series title, getting its All-Star shortstop back healthy ranks among the most important developments through the first month of the season.
Related: Yankees' Aaron Boone Announces Ben Rice News After 4th Straight Absence From Lineup
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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 5:23 PM.