On March 17, Dodgers head coach Dave Roberts announced that shortstop Mookie Betts would miss the season opener Tokyo Series due to an ongoing recovering illness, but was expected to be in time for the March 27 home opening game against the Tigers.

Bates, who lost "nearly 15 pounds" due to illness, missed last weekend's warm-up game against the Japanese team and last Tuesday's Cactus League finale. If he had known that his illness would have affected him for so long, the team might not have let him go to Japan with the team. In the first few days in Tokyo, Bates was involved in light training, but was visibly tired. He was scheduled to pass a full training session on March 18 to assess his status in the opening game, but he did not show up at Tokyo Dome.

"When you lose too much weight and become dehydrated, it's easy to cause soft tissue damage," Roberts explains, "and we take that very seriously. So the next week will be focused on regaining strength, playing baseball, and preparing for the opening game on home soil. "

With the Cubs fielding Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele as the Cubs field two left-hand starters, Miguel Rojas is expected to replace Bates in the guerrilla. The Dodgers will likely follow the Tokyo Dome warm-up setup, with Tommy Edman as the second baseman.

After two games in the Tokyo series, the Dodgers will return to the United States for three warm-up games against the Angels before kicking off the regular season. Bates' transition to the infield last year was up and down, but after a full offseason of preparation, his improvement in the partisan position was lauded, and the change will become a permanent fixture.

As the opening game approaches, Bates' fitness has become a key variable for the Dodgers, and the team is cautious about his long-term health, after all, the Tokyo series is just the beginning of a 162-game regular season.