Dodgers Opinion: Should the Dodgers Drop Ohtani Down in the Lineup?
DENVER, CO— Two minutes. That’s the time allowed between the last pitch of one half inning and the beginning of another. For the average fan, the Major League Baseball pace of play rules have been beneficial.
Shorter games, more action, and less dead time. However, for a player, it can be chaotic; for a two-way player like Shohei Ohtani, it can be even more stressful.
Ohtani, 30, has made two starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers this season. In both games, the three-time Most Valuable Player Award winner continued to bat leadoff for the Dodgers. But with his workload set to increase and the dog days of summer fast approaching, is it worth moving Ohtani down in the lineup?
Since June 17th, 2024, after All-Star Mookie Betts‘s wrist injury, Ohtani has been exclusively the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter.
Since that date, Ohtani is slashing .301/.393/.658 with a 1.051 OPS, 183 wRC+, and 133 RBIs and sixty-one home runs, giving him a collective 9.7 fWAR from the leadoff spot. But with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts now planning for the two-way Ohtani, does it make sense to switch when Ohtani has been so valuable atop the order?
“I think right now we’ll play it status quo, but you know coming out of this one (start against the Nationals) it might make more sense to drop to second or third or fourth,” Roberts said of Ohtani dropping in the lineup. “But right now, we’ll remain status quo. I have not seen signs of fatigue.”
The Dodgers have made it known that the entire process of Ohtani’s return to the mound has been one of constant communication, and that won’t change regarding his spot in the Dodgers’ lineup.
Los Angeles could make the decision easier by already having an ideal replacement in Mookie Betts, who was the Dodgers’ primary leadoff hitter for the last five seasons.
In his career, Betts has been elite as a leadoff hitter between his time in Boston and Los Angeles with a .296/.376/.537 slash line and a .913 OPS compared to just a .281/.357/.457 slash line and .815 OPS in the two-hole.
However, like in many cases, the decision is entirely up to Ohtani and how he feels over the next several starts while the Dodgers stretch him out past the first inning.
My rule of thumb is: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Los Angeles Dodgers have the league’s best-ranked offense, leading in wRC+ and fWAR, so any changes now are not necessary.
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