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Dodgers’ Mookie Betts ‘in a really good spot’ with regained bat speed

March 16, 2026

MESA, Ariz. – Things slowed down for Mookie Betts in 2025. Not in a good way.

Betts has always gotten the most out of his athleticism, making up for his small frame (he is listed at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds) with exceptional use of leverage in his swing and elite hand-eye coordination. But some of that athleticism was taken away by the virus he contracted at this time last year.

The resulting loss in weight (he estimates he dropped almost 20 pounds) cost him something precious to a major-league hitter – bat speed.

“I’ve always kind of tracked it. But last year was probably the most alarming because it was down just about 10 mph,” Betts said after hitting his first home run of the spring Sunday. “There’s no excuse there. It’s something I’ve tracked, and I’ll keep up with. It doesn’t matter for everyone, but for me it does.”

Ten miles per hour might be an exaggeration – or the lowest point as he fought through the worst offensive season of his career. For the season, his bat speed (as tracked by Statcast) was only down about 2 mph from previous seasons (buoyed by a late-season surge at the plate). But even that average (69 mph) put Betts in the lowest 10 percent of major-league hitters for 2025 – not a good place to be.

Betts said he is back to his usual playing weight this spring, has gained back the lost strength and – even at age 33 – bat speed.

“I think the most important part is I think I’m 178 now, almost 180. I’m able to just have speed,” he said. “When I lost all that weight, I was down 10 mph in (bat) speed. Guys are throwing 100 mph. With a slow bat, it’s going to be hard. It’s no excuse. It’s a fact. Now that I’ve got my speed back, I don’t have to hurry up and make decisions so fast.”

He is “swinging it just as fast as when I was younger,” and that has freed up his mind.

“When I show up to the park, I don’t have to guess. I don’t have to panic. It’s just the same every day,” he said. “You’re going to have days when you get hits and days when you don’t get hits. But I’m not chasing my tail. I’m not physically at a deficit. I’m just in a really good spot.”

Betts might have Yoshinobu Yamamoto to thank for some of that.

When Yamamoto joined the Dodgers two years ago, he brought with him a unique workout routine that emphasized core movements and didn’t involve any weight lifting. Betts saw some similarities in body type with Yamamoto (listed at 5-foot-10 and 176 pounds) and was intrigued by Yamamoto’s ability to get the most out of his body. He became a junior acolyte of Yamamoto’s training guru, Yada Sensei.

Betts adopted a stretching routine designed by Yada Sensei that first spring and has added to it since. Earlier this spring, he was spied carrying Sensei on his shoulders as part of the routine – “He’s only 130 pounds” – and uses the same javelins as Yamamoto daily.

“I’m not fully in his whole routine, but what I can do – I wake up and do my stretch routine that Yada Sensei showed me every day. I throw the javelins every day,” Betts said. “I think throwing the javelins is why I can make a play like that (against the Cubs Sunday) in the hole and throw it on a line. I’m really grateful for Yoshi and Sensei because they definitely changed my perspective, changed my life, my game.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he can see the difference in Betts this spring.

“He looks more physical right now,” Roberts said. “And part of that is gaining weight, gaining some muscle. So I like where he’s at physically. And to be honest, I can’t really tell, as far as with my eye, how much more bat speed is increased. But he looks stronger.”

YEAR TWO

Throughout his disappointing 2025 season, the Dodgers thought they had a handle on why Tanner Scott was struggling. He threw too many strikes in predictable spots, they believed, allowing hitters to get comfortable.

There is “progress” in that this spring, Roberts said. In 5⅓ spring innings, Scott has faced 21 batters, struck out seven, given up three hits and walked one.

“I think it’s just ‘Be willing to be unpredictable,” Roberts said of the challenge for Scott this year. “He has a good fastball. But I think there’s a comfort level of being predictable with his fastball location. So, to use the other side of the plate, understand when to use the slider – the stuff is there, so that for me is the growth part.

“I don’t know if it’s a comfort level or not comfortable doing it. I think he’s just comfortable doing what he’s always done. So it’s just saying that you have the ability to throw it to both sides of the plate to not be predictable.”

Issues with his delivery might have been a factor last year, Roberts said. But Scott looks “locked in” this spring.

“Then if we can get the intent to be better and mixed, I think he’ll have much better results. Because the stuff’s still really good,” Roberts said.

ALSO

Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Edwin Diaz are all expected to rejoin Dodgers camp after their teams were eliminated from the World Baseball Classic. Ohtani and Yamamoto are likely to pitch in games before the Dodgers break camp on Saturday but their schedules have not been determined yet. … Roki Sasaki and Blake Snell threw bullpen sessions Sunday morning at Camelback Ranch. Snell’s was another low-intensity session. Sasaki threw a full bullpen and is in line to start another Cactus League game this week.

Orange County Register

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Dodgers’ Mookie Betts ‘in a really good spot’ with regained bat speed

YEAR TWO

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