Mookie Betts Likely to Miss MLB Opening Day

An illness forced Mookie Betts to miss the first two games of the 2025 MLB season and he is now likely to miss Opening Day stateside, as well.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs played a two-game series in Tokyo, Japan, last week. Ahead of the short series, it was revealed that Betts was under the weather and would be unavailable for his club. As the Dodgers swept the Cubs 2-0 at the Tokyo Dome, Betts returned to Los Angeles to continue recovering.

However, Betts’ recovery has been a challenge. The superstar was a late scratch Sunday night ahead of an exhibition game against the Los Angeles Angels. While he was unable to take the field, Betts met with reporters and elaborated on his illness — stating that he hasn’t been able to keep down solid food without vomiting for two weeks and has roughly 15 pounds since first feeling sick.

“I mean, I feel great,” Betts told reporters. “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.”

With Opening Day just days away, Betts is a longshot to take the field on Thursday when the Dodgers host the Detroit Tigers. Los Angeles’ shortstop said that all his blood work and other routine testing have been normal. He has been ruled out of Monday’s game against the Angels, and likely will not play Tuesday in the final game before the regular season resumes for the Dodgers.

“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.”

With Betts unable to play in Tokyo, veteran Miguel Rojas started both games at shortstop. If Betts is not ready to face Detroit, Rojas is the likely candidate to man the position once again.