Shohei Ohtani is back in the leadoff spot for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’ll bat first for the Dodgers in Sunday’s matchup versus the Tampa Bay Rays.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts moved Mookie Betts into the leadoff spot for the past nine games, hoping that would help him break out of his season-long slump. Ohtani batted second while Betts was at the top of the batting order.
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Upon making the switch, Roberts insisted that this was a temporary move for Betts, intended to help him focus on getting on base and taking good at-bats. The belief was that Ohtani would go back to the top of the lineup when Max Muncy returned from the injured list. That won’t be the case on Sunday, but Muncy’s pending return could cause further lineup changes.
Betts didn’t improve during his nine games batting leadoff, compiling a .211/.295/.263 slash average with five walks in 44 plate appearances. He is hitless in his past three games, going 0-for-13 with no walks. For the season, he’s batting .237/.309/.365 with 15 doubles, 11 home runs and 47 RBI — easily the worst numbers of his 12-year career.
“Just trying to figure out what’s best short-term, longer-term,” Roberts told reporters before Sunday’s game. “In a vacuum [Saturday], I thought he had a good offensive game. I really did. I thought he had good at-bats, I thought he spread the ball out. And then other days, it looks like he’s lost. I know he’s frustrated.”
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Meanwhile, Ohtani wasn’t thriving in the No. 2 spot either, despite hitting there the most during his eight MLB seasons. In nine games, he batted .243/.349/.595 with four home runs and nine RBI. Leading off, Ohtani was putting up MVP-caliber numbers, batting .274/.378/.605 with 34 homers, 64 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 456 PAs. Overall, he leads the National League with 38 home runs.
What doesn’t appear to be a consideration is moving Betts from shortstop back to second base or right field. He’s played good defense according to advanced metrics, credited with six Defensive Runs Saved and two Outs Above Average. But is that affecting his performance at the plate? The Dodgers have others who could play the position with Tommy Edman, Miguel Rojas and Hyeseong Kim.
