C’mon, Dodgers, you must realize what you’re doing to your best player, continually drenching his season in uncertainty, battering his body, ruining his rituals, denting his spirit.
C’mon, Dodgers, after what happened again Friday, your mandate is clear.
Stop moving Mookie!
Stop bouncing him recklessly around the diamond and the batting order like he’s a centerpiece in a game of beer pong.
Read more: Dodgers move Mookie Betts to shortstop, Gavin Lux to second amid defensive struggles
Stop treating him like he’s an aging journeyman with marginal talent, zero power and no voice.
Stop taking his unbelievable good nature and inimitable team spirit for granted, or risk him following the lead of other misused talents in this era of athlete empowerment.
Hint: You don’t need this guy asking for a trade.
You laugh, the Dodgers scoff, there’s few who believe this sweet and selfless star would ever create the commotion that any sort of whispered or shouted get-me-out-of-here demand would cause. Plus, he makes $30 million a year on a deal that extends through 2032, which sort of limits his attractiveness.
But he’s only human, and there’s surely only so much pride he can swallow and perceived lack of respect he can stomach. The Dodgers have seemingly reached this breaking point. They have to stop scheming and rearranging and pushing.
They need to back off and let Mookie be Mookie.
“I’ve been saying the whole time, it doesn’t matter where I play, as long as I’m playing and helping the team win,” Betts said Friday afternoon while sitting in the dugout surrounded by reporters.
Believe that. But you better believe the Dodgers need to stop testing the endurance of those words.
The latest remodel occurred Friday when, three days after announcing that Betts would play shortstop upon next week’s return from the injured list, the Dodgers stated he would instead be moving back to right field.
Read more: ‘Uncharted territory’: Is Mookie Betts at shortstop a sustainable solution for the Dodgers?
This, after they started the season moving him from second base to shortstop.
This, after they spent last season moving him from right field to second base.
And this, after they announced this week he was moving out of his cherished leadoff spot and batting second so Shohei Ohtani could keep batting first.
Next up, a spot in the bullpen and a job cutting the…