If you didn’t see this one coming, you might want to schedule an appointment with an optometrist.

On Wednesday afternoon, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed during his pregame Zoom media presser what we all pretty much already knew – that 28-year-old Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts was headed to the Injured List for “right hip inflammation.”

“Nothing has changed. You know, obviously, he’s disappointed, frustrated,” Roberts said. “We’re going to have some more experts sort of chime in and try to, you know, figure this thing out. So right now, you know, he’s going to be an IL. We’ll kind of keep digging in on this and, with some rest, hopefully, he responds well. So, that’s kind of where we’re at. He’s going to fly back to Los Angeles (Wednesday evening) with his family and get with some docs there, I think tomorrow.

“As far as symptomatically, it’s kind of ‘it is what it is’ – difficult for him to navigate, to move around – so, we’re just hoping that making this move, because we still have a functioning roster, so, to do that, to get him some rest, that’s kind of a no-brainer step for him.”

When asked if this is truly a 10-day IL thing or perhaps longer, Roberts seemed a bit uncomfortable in his seat while clearly trying to minimize the situation.

“I just don’t think it’s fair to Mookie, or I don’t think anyone knows if it’s on the 11th day, he’ll be ready to go,” Roberts answered. “So, I do think, and Mookie and I have talked at length about this, it’s, right now, it’s kind of a ‘it is what it is’ situation. So, hopefully, get some of the pain, discomfort to dissipate, and that’s what we’re hoping, you know, these next – as we retro these next eight days – and see where we’re at.”

If there is a bright side to all of this – and there isn’t really – it’s that newcomer Trea Turner has hit the ground running (literally) since being acquired by the Dodgers on July 30. In the four games in which the 28-year-old Boynton Beach, FL native and first-round draft pick in 2014 draft out of North Carolina State by the San Diego Padres has appeared heading into Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, he is slashing .309 / .400 / .462 / .862, with two doubles and one stolen base. Granted, 4-for-13 is a ridiculously small sample size, but the spark that Turner has clearly brought to the Dodgers is impossible to ignore.

Play Ball!

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