Cody Snavely
While no MLB player can genuinely match the greatness that is Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s one and only two-way player that has dominated both sides of the ball since 2021 and is off to perhaps his second MVP in three years. However, what Mookie Betts has done this year is a close second.
The story of the 2023 Dodgers from spring training until now at the end of the first half has to be injuries. While we have seen the injuries pile up in the pitching department as of late, the position player pool has also had devastating injuries, with the biggest being Gavin Lux, who is supposed to take the reigns at Shortstop. Miguel Rojas was the clear choice to replace him, but he can barely stay above league average, and with his age, the injury bug already affected him with a hamstring issue earlier in the season.
In terms of line-up construction, the Dodgers have three left-handed bats that will primarily start only against RHP James Outman, David Peralta, and Jason Heyward. This put the Dodgers in an odd spot as they wanted to give these three guys at-bats while also giving Rojas a rest day. So what do you do with Mookie Betts? Well, you turn him into the best utility man in baseball who has the ability to play not only right field but also second base and shortstop.
While Ohtani can hit and pitch, which is an extremely hard task at the Major League level, Betts has shown his own versatility by playing three positions at an elite level while also on pace to have his best offensive season in his career. Betts is currently batting .276 with an OPS of .964, 26 home runs, 62 RBI, and slugging at .586, and second in WAR behind only Ronald Acuña Jr.
Betts is the glue that is holding this Dodgers season together, being able to play a variety of positions that allows manager Dave Roberts to not only keep Betts in the line-up but get Heyward and Peralta’s consistent playing time as they have each turned into key contributors since May. When it was stated that Betts would play more in the infield, I initially thought it was a mistake as Betts was one of the best defensive right fielders in all of baseball since his debut in 2014. However, after seeing how the team has played since that decision and how Betts has turned it into another gear, I think it was a great decision, given the circumstances.
If he continues to play at this rate into the second half, Betts has a great chance to challenge Ronald Acuña Jr. for the NL MVP award this season. Expect Mookie to continue playing between RF, 2nd, and SS for the rest of the season, as not only is it helping the Dodgers but helping Mookie find another reason to love the game.
Be sure to catch Betts compete in the T-Mobile 2023 Home Run Derby today and start in the All-Star Game tomorrow.
