Dodgers Opinion: Are the Dodgers Making a Mistake Batting Betts Atop the Order?

LOS ANGELES, CA—It’s been a forgettable season for Mookie Betts, the eight-time All-Star, three-time World Series champion, and 2018 American League Most Valuable Player, as he is experiencing the worst offensive season of his career.

It’s well-known that since July began, the Los Angeles Dodgers have struggled as a team, winning only thirteen of their last thirty games, much of that due to their MVP trio’s long slump at the top of the order.

Betts’ struggles have been well documented. Overall, the 32-year-old newly transitioned shortstop is hitting just .236/.308/.361 this season, along with a below league average wRC+ of 87 and a career-low .669 OPS, which ultimately equals a -7.1 offensive value, per FanGraphs.

Despite early criticism, Betts has been a highly productive defensive shortstop in his second year of the experiment. In fact, much of his overall value and fWAR (1.3) is driven by his strong defensive play.

Unlike last year, Betts has cleaned up his game at the premier position, posting a .982 fielding percentage and ranking 79th overall in OAA (Outs-Above-Average).

While Betts has continued to struggle, the Dodgers and Betts seem to be out of answers as to why, with Betts himself looking for the lord’s help after his recent comments postgame last week.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who has trusted Betts’ ability to turn his season around, has pulled out all the stops, including moving Mookie back into the leadoff spot, hoping to ignite a spark.

However, that plan fell on itself with Betts going just 8-for-42 (.190 AVG) and a piss poor 46 wRC+, his first time in the role since last June before a wrist injury sidelined him.

As the days went on and the pressure mounted on the Dodgers, who watched their nine-game lead in the National League West shrink to just two games over the San Diego Padres, fans and the media blasted Roberts to make a move in the batting order, to which he simply responded No.

“The more I think about it, Mookie is somebody I’m not going to hit lower in the order,” Roberts said. “I just feel you weigh the options, the alternatives, and things like that, I’m going to continue to believe in him and trust that he’s the best option, whether it’s in the one or the two, and that’s what we’re going to roll with.

“So I think the questions are far as far as moving him down and things like that, but this guy is a premium player and he’s just in this extended funk. But he’s going to work his way out of this. I just feel the best version of our ballclub is him somewhere at the top of the order.”

So, there you have it, Roberts has thrown away any thought of moving Betts out of the top of the order. But is it the right move?

As of right now, the Dodgers do have better options for the two-hole, such as the current catcher and National League batting champion leader, Will Smith.

Smith has put together one of the more impressive offensive seasons from a backstop, hitting .316/.416/.529 with a 164 wRC+ this season in eighty-nine games.

However, Roberts elaborated that the suggestion of Smith hitting in the two-hole isn’t as feasible as you’d think due to the days off for young catcher Dalton Rushing.

“Also, given that Will Smith doesn’t play every day, so you’re trying to not mix and match the top of the order when the catcher players three out of four, or whatever it is. So that’s kind of the math.”

The other alternative for Roberts would be to insert third baseman Max Muncy in the two-hole, but that creates an issue in itself of back-to-back lefties in the order, something the team avoided with Ohtani and Freeman.

Andy Pages, the Dodgers’ 24-year-old center fielder, could also be an option as he’s a right-handed bat that would break up the lefties, but even he has shown some regression with a 90 wRC+ in July.

There is some truth to Dave Roberts’ comments, as it’s become hard to find an “everyday” alternative for the role, which has been filled by either Betts or Ohtani over the last two seasons.

Still, there is only so much that the Dodgers’ lineup can take, especially once October rolls around, where the best one through nine should play.

While Betts has shown some signs of fire in recent days, such as a 3-for-4 night against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, snapping a 0-for-22 stretch since July 1st, he’s still only put together a .196/.252/.304 slash line.

Still, Betts has shown some value this season in some in-between the line stats, such as a .250 batting average with runners in scoring position, a .260 average with men on base, and a .321 average in high-leverage situations.

Personally, despite Dave’s thought process, when it comes to crunch time and if Betts has shown no signs of improvement in Game One of a postseason series, I would place Will Smith in the two-hole.

Arguably with the games meaning as much as they mean now in a division race and push for a top two seed in the National League, I’d argue that Ohtani, Smith, and Freeman should be the trio getting the most at-bats of anyone on the team.

Still, the Dodgers value patience and will wait out Mookie, hoping that at some point he’ll look like his old self again, but only time will tell over the next two months if it was worth it.

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