TOKYO -- Mookie Betts will not play in the season-opening Tokyo Series as he continues to recover from an illness, manager Dave Roberts said on Monday. The Dodgers' shortstop is expected to be ready in time for the domestic opener.

Prior to Tuesday morning's game, Roberts said Betts flew home early in order to give him more time to rebuild strength in a familiar environment. He said Betts lost "close to 15 pounds" due to the illness.

Betts’ illness is not believed to be contagious, and it's what kept him out of the Dodgers' exhibition games against Nippon Professional Baseball teams 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 to Tokyo.

Betts participated in light workouts in the team's first couple of days in Tokyo, but he looked visibly fatigued. He was tentatively expected to go through a full workload on Monday's optional workout day in order to gauge his readiness for Opening Day, but he did not end up reporting to Tokyo Dome.

While Betts is feeling much better at this point, the Dodgers want to prioritize his long-term health and be mindful that the Tokyo Series is just the first two games out of 162.

"The thing is when you lose a lot of weight, when you’re dehydrated, that’s what opens a person up to soft-tissue injuries," Roberts said. "We’re very mindful of that. So to take the next week, call it, to build him back up, his strength, do some baseball activities to get ready for the home opener."

With the Cubs sending two left-handed starters to the mound in Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele, Miguel Rojas is likely to fill in at shortstop in both games. The Dodgers' lineups will probably look similar to the ones that they used during their exhibitions at Tokyo Dome, with Tommy Edman assuming Betts' usual spot in the two-hole.

After the two-game Tokyo Series, the Dodgers will return to home soil for three exhibition games against the Angels before resuming their regular-season slate against the Tigers on March 27.

After seeing mixed success in his move to the infield to open the previous year, Betts is expected to be the Dodgers' full-time shortstop this season. With a full offseason to prepare, Betts has drawn praise for the strides he's made at shortstop, which is intended to be a permanent change of position.