GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Dodgers were not expecting to see this version of Edwin Rios so soon.

“It’s surprising considering the surgery that he had last year, how (little) he played last year,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Rios’ performance this spring. “That’s just a credit to the work he’s put in. But I didn’t expect him to be where he’s at right now.

“I can’t give him enough credit. To be quite honest, we didn’t expect him to be where he is right now.”

Rios underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder last May. He had been playing with shoulder pain for a while before that, getting treatment on a routine basis. But it got to be too much early last season – and his .078 average (4 for 51) made it painfully obvious he needed to do something about it.

But Rios doesn’t share any belief that he is exceeding expectations this spring.

“No,” Rios said. “It was a long offseason. I was hungry – missing out, sitting out. I knew what I needed to do coming in. I made sure to make that a point this offseason. I’m healthy now, feeling good. I’m doing what I planned to do. My plan all along was to come in here full strength and remind everybody.”

Rios wanted to remind everyone of the player who hit 12 home runs in his first 123 big-league at-bats. He has been that same player so far this spring, going 7 for 16 with a team-leading three home runs.

It’s the kind of spring that could secure a spot on the Dodgers’ bench.

“I don’t know. In my mind, obviously, I want to be there. I’ve worked for it,” Rios said. “It’s not my decision so I’ve just got to keep working my tail off and try to make it happen.

“Like I said, results talk for themselves. If I just keep doing what I’ve been doing we’ll see what happens.”

BETTS PROGRAM

Outfielder Mookie Betts has played in just four of the Dodgers’ first 13 Cactus League games (going 1 for 11) and has not played in games on back-to-back days.

Betts acknowledged early in camp that he was “easing our way back into it” this spring since he was “coming off an injury” last season. A bone spur in his hip was the most troublesome of a series of physical issues he dealt with in 2021.

“Physically, he’s in a good place,” Robert said, adding that he planned to play Betts in all three Freeway Series games back in Southern California. “He hasn’t played back-to-back games but he’s taken live at-bats. He’s moving well, feels good. I talk to him every day about how he’s feeling, how much he wants to get ready. I think with him we’re in a good spot.”

Betts finished second in the National League MVP voting for the shortened 2020 season. That dynamic version of Betts was hard to find in 2021. He played in just 122 games (his lowest total for a full season in the majors) and hit .264 (tied for the lowest of his career) with an .854 OPS (his lowest since 2017).

But Roberts is clear about which Betts he expects to see this season.

“I can’t predict how his health is going to be,” Roberts said. “But as far as going into this season, I just can’t see him not being a part of the MVP talk this season.”

PRICE POINT

Left-hander David Price made his first appearance in a Cactus League game this spring on Wednesday, striking out two of the three batters he faced in his one inning.

Price’s progress this spring has been delayed by elbow pain that cropped up after his first live batting practice session of the spring. The elbow pain is an annual thing, he said, that makes the next two weeks of spring training “an absolute grind.”

“That’s going back all the way to 2011,” Price said. “I’ve gotten through that period, and now everything feels good — arm, elbow, shoulder.”

Price said the spring pain is “always the elbow — never shoulder or anything else. It’s always the elbow.”

“It’s right after that first live BP,” he said. “I think once you get a hitter in the box, or at least for me, even if they’re on your team, it takes you to a place you can’t really get to in a bullpen or if you’re throwing in your backyard.”

FERGUSON DELAY

Pitcher Caleb Ferguson is “unlikely” to be on the Dodgers’ season-opening roster, Roberts said. But it won’t be because of any setback Ferguson has had in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.

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Ferguson has fully recovered from the procedure and has pitched in three Cactus League games. But the Dodgers plan to use him cautiously this season and would prefer to limit his innings early in the season rather than later.

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