Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Mookie Betts played his first full MLB season at shortstop in 2025, and there’s plenty to talk about — both good and bad.
The Dodgers had played Betts at shortstop for most of the 2024 season and shifted him to a full-time position on the left side of the infield last season. He played 1,279 innings in the field in 2025, and all but one came at short.
Betts had a fantastic defensive season at his new position, ranking first among all MLB shortstops with 17 defensive runs saved. He also had six outs above average, ranking him in the 92nd percentile league-wide, and a plus-3 fielding run value, ranking him in the 74th percentile.
His efforts with the glove earned him a place as a finalist for the National League Gold Glove at shortstop, though he ultimately came up short against Masyn Winn.
Betts struggled offensively through the first half of the season, and limped into the All-Star break with a sub-.700 OPS and a .244 batting average. The shortstop came out several times during the season speaking about his performance and how he wasn’t happy with how he had played so far.
Then, after the All-Star break, things changed for Betts.
Betts batted .279 after the All-Star break and posted a .784 OPS during the second half of the year. Through 61 games, Betts hit nine home runs and 37 RBIs — a much better pace than the 11 homers and 45 RBIs he hit in 89 games before the All-Star Game.
The former MVP ended the season with a .258/.326/.406 slash line, all of which were career lows. Despite that, he raised his OPS and greatly improved his performance towards the end of the season, and still managed to end the season with an OPS+ above league average.
While the beginning of Betts’ season disappointed, the veteran held himself together and proved his worth in an unfamiliar role to support the Dodgers on their way to a third consecutive World Series championship. The eight-time All-Star will look to improve upon 2025 next season and help the Dodgers to their first three-peat in franchise history.
