Dodgers Interview: Doc makes bold Mookie Betts prediction, talks batting order

CAMELBACK RANCH, AZ– Another February day, another Dave Roberts presser in Arizona. On Wednesday, he covered some familiar territory (Shohei, WBC, etc), but really opened up about what he expects from Mookie Betts in 2026.

On Shohei Ohtani’s mound work this week, Roberts kept it simple. “I heard it was good,” he said of Ohtani’s most recent bullpen. “I didn’t see him. I was on field, too, but I heard it was good. He got his work in and [we’re] pleased with it. Just continuing the progression and go from there.”

That same steady tone showed up when he was asked how the pitching group looks with Cactus League games arriving on Saturday. Roberts said that he feels good about where the pitchers are right now. “There’s other guys that are ready to go, and there’s certainly a buildup. We have a lot of good arms and depth. Some veteran guys, some guys that we just signed, some younger guys. Just to give guys opportunities and see, and then as guys get built up. But yeah, we’re certainly ready to get going.”

One of the first big “let’s see it in a game” moments could belong to Yoshinobu Yamamoto this weekend. When Roberts was asked whether Yamamoto would start Saturday or Sunday, he said, “That’s the thought. The plan, I’m not sure which day. That’s more (pitching coach) Mark Prior driven, but that’s the hope. If things go well, we should see him in one of those games.”

The other big topic on Wednesday was Mookie Betts, and Roberts sounded confident that the version of Betts the Dodgers have relied on for years is still right there. He acknowledged last season’s unusual start, then pointed to how Betts arrived in camp this time around. “Last year started off certainly different with when we were in Tokyo and how he was feeling, and the weight loss and all that stuff,” Roberts said. “I think he had a great offseason. He’s in a good head space, the body’s good, and for me it’s just getting back to being who he is. I just think that last year was an outlier offensive season.”

The outlier that Roberts speaks of was Betts’s worst season as a Dodger. The slash line (.258/.326/.406) was well off his career norms and his power numbers (just 20 HR in nearly 600 at-bats) were barely half of what he’s put up in his best years.

When the follow-up question came, the one Dodgers fans have been asking since the winter began, Roberts was optimistic. “Absolutely,” he said, when asked if MVP-caliber offense is still there. “I have no doubt about it. The way he played shortstop last year. Expecting him to get better, be better offensively this year. He will be in the MVP conversation this year.”

Roberts also made it clear what he believes Betts cares about most, and it came out in a way that felt like both a reminder and a mission statement for March. “Speaking for Mookie, his main goal is to help us win a championship,” Roberts said. “So I think whatever falls out from there, that will happen. I just want him to focus on being healthy, helping us win, and then whatever happens outside of that will happen.”

The lineup conversation got interesting fast, especially with the thought of Betts hitting between big bats. Roberts was asked about the difference between hitting leadoff or second, versus living in that middle-of-the-order world where the game can come to you with traffic on the bases. His answer sounded like a manager thinking in terms of roles, not labels. “Leadoff, I feel good with our leadoff hitter right now,” he said. “For Mookie in particular, being leadoff, the mindset of getting on base versus hitting behind Sho in the number two. I like him in the number three in the sense that I feel that there’s an on-base component, there’s a get-hits component, there’s a drive-in-run component, and you’re more of a Swiss Army knife in the lineup.”

That “Swiss Army knife” line is going to stick with people, because it captures the best version of Betts. He can start something. He can finish it. He can win you an inning with one swing or with a hard 90 feet that turns into a run later. Roberts also left room for flexibility as camp unfolds. “I’m not beholden to it,” he said. “But I like him in the three hole right now.”

And when a reporter pressed on whether that was firm, Roberts laughed through the reality of February decisions. “I haven’t totally figured out two and four,” he said. “But I like Mookie in the three.”

That’s spring training in a nutshell. The stakes feel far away, yet the details matter right now. Ohtani keeps progressing on the mound. Yamamoto lines up for his first Cactus League appearance. Treinen looks like a weapon again. Betts looks like himself, and Roberts is already picturing how to deploy him in the heart of the order.

It’s early. But it already sounds like a Dodgers camp that expects to move with purpose once the games start showing up on the schedule.

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