Mookie Betts sat out both of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ games in the Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs last week as he deals with an illness, and the star outfielder has lost a disturbing amount of weight as a result.
The Dodgers had hoped to get Betts some at-bats in Sunday’s spring training game against the Los Angeles Angels, but he was a late scratch. He told reporters that his symptoms have been improving but he is still unable to keep solid foods down.
Betts said he weighed 175 pounds at the start of spring training and is now down to around 150. He started feeling ill two days before the Dodgers left for Tokyo.
“I’m feeling alright now. I was fine this morning, got to the park and went about the day, then just had to go throw up again,” Betts said Sunday. “I’m not exactly sure what it is.”
Mookie Betts vomited after having breakfast this morning. Betts has not been able to eat a full meal for over a week.
— Fredo Cervantes (@FredoCervantes) March 24, 2025
Roberts scratched him from the lineup ahead of Sunday's game. @SportingTrib | #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/YahxmkDja1
Betts said he has started a new medication to help his stomach irritation, but he is still only able to keep smoothies down. He added that he has been “scared to eat” and that he is “tired of throwing up.”
“I don’t think anybody really knows … My body’s just kind of eating itself, and so it’s hard to not fuel it,” Betts said, via R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports. “Every time, literally, every time I fuel my body, I throw it up and I don’t know what to do about it.”
Though he has been receiving IV fluids, Betts has not been able to gain back the weight he has lost. His status for Opening Day against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday remains uncertain.
The plan has been for Betts to enter the season as the Dodgers’ starting shortstop. The 32-year-old’s numbers fell off a bit last season, as he hit .289 with 19 home runs, 75 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases over 116 total games. Betts had to sit from mid-June to mid-August due to a hand fracture suffered on a hit-by-pitch.
Until he is fully recovered from whatever illness he has been battling, Betts probably will not play on a full-time basis.
