Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts is still dealing with an illness and his return remains uncertain.
Betts, who missed the Dodgers’ first two games of the regular season at the Tokyo Dome last week and was sent back to Los Angeles to continue recovering, was a late scratch for Sunday’s exhibition win against the Los Angeles Angels.
Betts told reporters he hasn’t been able to keep down solid food without vomiting for two weeks and has lost about 15 pounds during that time.
“I mean, I feel great,” Betts told reporters in Los Angeles. “Like, my body feels great. I’ve been able to work out. I’ve been able to do pretty much everything but eat, which is strange. So the symptoms have kind of gone away, I just have to figure out how to get my stomach to kind of calm down.”
The perennial All-Star said so far all his blood work and other routine testing have been normal. Betts won’t play in Monday’s exhibition at Angel Stadium, and he’s a long shot for the Dodgers’ opening day game on American soil on Thursday against Detroit.
“It’s just hard to fathom not eating and going to play a game,” Betts said. “So it looks like I’m just going to be light for a little bit. Maybe I play uphill a little bit for the beginning of the season. But no, I just want to play, man. I’m tired of sitting, tired of throwing up, tired of doing all this. I really just want to play.”
Betts is making the full-time transition to shortstop after playing most of his career in right field and second base. The 2018 AL MVP hit .289 with 19 homers and 75 RBIs last season, helping the Dodgers win the World Series.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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