Manny Machado isn’t backing down, and apparently, he’s willing to take on baseball’s golden boy, Mookie Betts, in the process. While Betts is busy cementing his legacy, Machado seems more concerned with drawing a line in the sand—whether it’s necessary or not. An MLB analyst has weighed in, and let’s just say, Machado’s stance might not age as well as he hopes.

We all know that Mookie Betts is fairly new to shortstop. But he has adapted very well to the position, after playing there for a part of 2024. This made most of the Dodgers’ fans happy. But Manny Machado seemed to be confused about Betts’s decision to take a new infield position. But an MLB analyst let everyone know how this season is going to go for Mookie Betts and the Dodgers.

During a show on the MLB network, the analysts were discussing Betts playing in the shortstop position for the 2025 season. And when the question came up, he said, “I don’t think it’s a question mark at all. I think last year it was more of an emergency status where he had to play some seconds, some short, some right. A full off-season getting ready, knowing you’re going to be able to play shortstop every single day, that’s just a plus for Mookie.” 

People seem to be very confident in Mookie Betts for the 2025 season. Even though it is a new position, Betts has had a full offseason to get ready for this. Even when asked suddenly, he was able to adapt and put up good defensive numbers. In the 2024 season, he had a fielding percentage of .963 at shortstop.

The analyst also says he will easily get around 40 home runs and win the golden glove at shortstop. With this, the Los Angeles Dodgers will most probably make it to the World Series again.

If Machado was looking for a reason to doubt Betts, he might want to check the scoreboard instead of his own confusion. With a full offseason under his belt and the confidence of analysts, Betts isn’t just playing shortstop—he’s owning it. And if the Dodgers ride his bat and glove to another World Series, Machado might have to find a new debate to lose.

Mookie Betts on shortstop: A challenge too fun to pass up

Mookie Betts playing shortstop isn’t just a position change—it’s baseball’s version of a plot twist no one saw coming. A Gold Glove outfielder deciding to take on the most demanding infield position? That’s either brilliance or sheer overconfidence, and Betts seems determined to make it the former.

Love it or doubt it, he’s here to prove that elite athleticism and an iron will, can bend baseball’s unwritten rules.

Betts said of the new position, “Let’s do it. I know it’s a tough challenge, but when stuff is not challenging, who has fun?” For almost half of the season, Mookie Betts embraced this challenge but acknowledged it saying “This is really hard.”

But by the end of the season, a decision was made. The major reasons for this decision were his athleticism and adaptability. While many doubt his decision to move, he is confident about it.

Betts didn’t just take on shortstop—he made it his next masterpiece. While skeptics question, he adjusts, adapts, and dominates. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that betting against Mookie Betts is never a wise decision.