Dodgers get great news on Mookie Betts for 2026 MLB season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Mookie Betts has been one of the best players in baseball for the last decade.
That's what made last season a bit disappointing for the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar. He wasn't bad. He just wasn't as good as usual.
But there's positive thinking on that front in a new article from MLB.com's Thomas Harrigan, who writes that Betts is primed for a bounceback season.
First, Harrigan explained a bit of what went wrong for Betts last year, while pointing out that it wasn't all bad.
"Betts had the worst offensive showing of his career, recording career lows in OPS (.732) and wRC+ (104)," Harrigan writes. "That said, the season wasn’t a total loss. Aided by a strong defensive showing in his first year as a full-time shortstop, not to mention a solid finish at the plate, the veteran superstar still managed to produce 3.4 WAR for the Dodgers. He also earned his fourth World Series ring, further burnishing his Hall of Fame credentials."
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Projection systems are looking at the full body of work for Betts and not putting too much stock into just one season.
"Will we see vintage Betts in 2026?" Harrigan writes. "The projections say yes, hinting at a full-blown return to form for the eight-time All-Star, who is projected for a 130 wRC+ and 4.9 WAR. Only 10 position players have a higher WAR projection."
If Betts has a season like that, it can only be great news for the Dodgers.
They're back-to-back defending World Series champions, and they signed Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz in free agency to get even better.
If they get a rebound from Betts, they're that much more potent.
At this point, it's getting rough for the rest of the teams in the league, because how do you keep up with the Dodgers if they keep getting better?
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