Mookie Betts Has Lost An Alarming Amount Of Weight With Illness That Will Keep Him Out Of Tokyo Games

The Los Angeles Dodgers will take on the Chicago Cubs in a two-game series in Tokyo later this week but will be doing so without Mookie Betts as the eight-time All-Star continues to recover from what sounds like a serious illness.

Betts, who is listed at 180 pounds, has lost close to 15 pounds over the past few days as he deals with this unknown illness, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. The swift drop in weight made the team concerned that Betts would be more susceptible to a soft tissue injury, which certainly puts into perspective just how non-game-ready the 32-year-old is at the moment.

According to MLB, Betts’ illness is not believed to be contagious but is what kept him out of the Dodgers' exhibition games at Tokyo Dome over the weekend, as well as the Cactus League finale last Tuesday. Had the team known the illness would sideline him for this long, Betts likely would not have made the trip overseas.

While the Dodgers were the last team standing last Fall as World Series champs, the 2024 campaign wasn't necessarily friendly to Betts. He missed a considerable amount of time dealing with a hand fracture after taking a pitch to the hand. He hit .289 from the dish on the year while driving in 75 runs to go along with 19 home runs.

Betts was effective when it mattered most, however, picking up five hits, four RBI, and four runs for Los Angeles as the Dodgers closed out the New York Yankees to win the World Series in five games.

The two games between the Dodgers and Cubs in Japan do count toward regular-season records.