Dodgers' Mookie Betts 'Very Probable' to Hit IL with Hip Injury

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters before Tuesday's game vs. the Philadelphia Phillies that a stint on the injured list "is very probable" for star outfielder Mookie Betts.

He was a late scratch from the game due to a sore right hip. 

Hip inflammation forced the five-time All-Star to go on the injured list in July. The injury added to what he described as a "bad" season by his usual standards.

Of course, plenty of players around MLB would settle for a "bad" year like this. Through 87 games, Betts is batting .277 and slugging .521 with a 141 OPS-plus, per Baseball Reference. He also has 17 home runs and 44 RBI.

Into early May, the Dodgers were falling short of expectations when they slipped to 17-16. They've since put themselves in a good position to return to the playoffs, and they didn't leave anything to chance by adding Max Scherzer and Trea Turner ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

Even for a team with the depth Los Angeles has in its lineup, losing Betts clearly makes the offense worse. But manager Dave Roberts still has some stars on whom he can rely to cover for the 28-year-old's absence.