It has become painfully obvious that there is a giant hole at the top of the Dodger batting order. It comes from an unexpected source. Mookie Betts, one of the better players in major league baseball is having his worst season ever. And it could not come at a more inopportune time. The Dodgers offense is floundering like a shark out of water. It doesn’t help that his top of the lineup partner has become a whiff machine, generating more air than a Hollywood wind machine does for movies.
So, it also is no surprise that this team is struggling to score runs. Let us put this season under the microscope a little and see if we can shed a little light on Mookie’s lack of production. We all know he got very ill on the trip to Japan and was sent home. Reports were that he lost close to 30 pounds. For a guy with his body build, that is a lot. I lost 36 pounds during my hospital stay, and even as big as I am, I pretty much felt like crap for a couple of months. Mookie started of the season slow. He has during his career typically been a very good hitter in the second half.
In March/April, he hit .250 with 4 homers. His OPS was .746. He hit .258 in May with 4 more homers. But his OPS dropped 8 points. The real decline began in June. He batted just .240 and had 1 homer. He hit .205 in July with 2 homers. He is ofer August. How has this happened? Mookie himself has said he has tried everything he knows to battle his way out of the slump. Maybe he is trying too hard. I have a feeling he is pressing and not just going out and playing the game and having a good time.
To his credit, Dave Roberts has put on a brave face and stood firmly behind his star player. He flip-flopped Ohtani and Betts in the lineup, and that flopped. So, he switched them back, that has not worked yet. Betts is just hitting .223 at Dodger Stadium and .238 on the road. 8 of his homers have come at home, and the other 3 on the road. In his career, he is a .280 hitter at Dodger Stadium. Also, in his career he is a .301 hitter at his home field.
He has always hit lefties well, and he is hitting them better than right-handed pitchers this year. But not close to as good as he has over his career. Stats show he is a better hitter when he is playing RF over SS by 30 points. But his highest average has come when he is playing second base, .307. The bulk of his career has been as a leadoff hitter, and he has done very well there with a .295 BA and a .910 OPS. He hits .271 in the 2 hole.
I firmly believe that Roberts needs to do something drastic. He needs to move Betts down in the lineup to 6 or 7. Take the pressure off. It certainly is not in the Dodgers best interest to keep running him out there in the 2-hole when he is not producing at all. With he and Ohtani struggling, it should be Ohtani, Freeman, Smith at the top of the order. At least you get two .300 hitters at bat in the first inning. After that it is a crap shoot because nobody else is hot. You could also flip-flop Smith and Freeman, with Will hitting second. Muncy would be my choice for #4. He hasn’t hit for a high average there, the 3 slot is actually his best, but he hits homers, has a great eye and can set em up for Teo and Pages. Both of whom should be better soon.
Would love to hear what you guys and any gals out there think. I have to believe Mookie will figure it out sooner rather than later. But if not, LA is in deep doo-doo in the playoffs.
The Yankees sent 29-year-old Jake Bird to AAA. Bird was one of their key pickups at the deadline. Chris Flexen was released by the Cubs. Some think Freeland is going to get some extended playing time with both Kim and Edman on the IL. MLBTR has it’s list of 2026 free agents up now. Some interesting names.
Ride or die
& maybe move him back to 2b next year
Freeland can handle SS
If they do change positions, it won’t be until spring.
2nd might be open if Edman’s ankle is chronic and Kim can’t hit.
Freeland at short in 2026 is a strong possibility.
Will Max be back at 3rd in 2026?
10-million-dollar team option, probably will.
I’m actually interested to see how Freeland looks a 2b.
He should get some reps there over the next couple of weeks.
Looked fine at 2B tonight.
Freeland’s off to a really impressive start.
For ’26, I suspect Mookie will have his choice of SS or 2B. His defense at SS has exceeded expectations, but he may want to switch.
Freeland, Edman and Kim can all play SS. So can Rojas, but I think the Dodgers will thank him for his service and wish him luck. He may have another productive season in him for another team.
Meanwhile, Austin Barnes just got released by the Giants. He should join the Dodgers’ coaching ranks next season.
do you mean in practice or games? Has he ever taken the field of second base?
Games. He has played 16 games there total, minors and college. As a SS, it should not be too hard of a transition.
Looks like it’s happening today?
Move Mookie down to your suggested 6-7 spot.
Right now the #1 & 2 spot are a vacuum.
Spank him
Send him to Muncy optometrist
I would move him down but leave him at short. Ohtani, Smith, Freeman should be the top three hitters when Smith is catching. It sounds like Betts and the Dodgers are out of answers. I would not bat him any higher than seventh. Muncy, Hernandez, and Pages (in some order) batting 4-6. The Dodger starters, if healthy, and a rested bullpen (plus Kopech and Scott) will be formidable in a short series. But this offense has been bad for a while now. Muncy returning and Freddie seeming to find his swing will help. They were never going to trade their way out of this offensive slump. Going to ride or die with Ohtani, Betts, Hernandez, Muncy, Smith, and Freeman. It was encouraging to see them cash in a lead off double by Hernandez by putting the ball in play.
I’m not sure the Dodgers are out of answers, in fact, I’d suggest that they have offered any answers. At least not since late June.
Dodgers offense since June 26 (MLB ranks):
87 wRC+ (30th)
25.1 K% (30th)
.221 AVG (30th)
.296 OBP (30th)
.293 wOBA (30th)
237 hits (30th)
119 runs (29th)
.667 OPS (29th)
.371 SLG (28th)
Those numbers match what we are seeing. Thanks for providing those. When I said “out of answers”, I meant regarding Mookie Betts. But the performance of this offense for the last six weeks has been horrible. Ridiculous for a team with these players to post those numbers for six weeks. Honestly, aside from Freeman showing signs of life and Muncy back, I don’t see that much has changed recently.
Hideous
He would not change positions at this point. But I could see him moving to second permanently next year.
Bat him about seventh or eighth in the lineup. Betts he is not the same hitter coach. Something has messed him up might have to get rid of him in the off-season. It could be a mind thing and he might just be washed up. When you start saying I hope miggy is playing today and at least miggy batting is more productive then Betts. That’s a problem when Miggy would be better right now.
Bradley, that is not happening. He has 7 years, and 232 million dollars still owed on his contract. He has dealt with a serious illness, and a death in the family, and the guy is human. He is far from washed up; he is just having a bad year. Let the front office make the decisions. You do not have enough inside knowledge of the situation.
I have a source telling me we trade Betts for Acuna in the off season.
Bradley????? I doubt the Braves will trade Ronald any time soon, certainly not for a guy who is older than he is by almost 6 years, and they for sure are not going to pick up his contract.
Jeff is taking some time off; I will be running things for a little while.
Did I miss something?
Hope he is well.
Big decisions. Some things needs to change.
I believe Roberts and his players are totally aware of that.
Good news is that Betts is 4-10 with 2 homers off of the Cardinals starter tonight, Milo Mikolas.
As Vin would say, “from your lips (or, keyboard) to God’s ears”
Baseball is a performance business and when you don’t produce you get sent down in the batting order. Betts should be moved down and in the Lasorda era he would be.
However, in the era of superstars and mega multi-million dollar contracts over a decade long, he won’t be moved from the top of the line-up.
My greatest concern at this point is whether or not the decrease in offensive production is a result of age regression. If so, it came earlier than most of us expected and what looked like a rather expensive player contract might become an absolute albatross for ownership. It was rather telling when Doc gave Mookie a “mental health” day for the second game of the second half. We might see more of those, but a move down the batting order is probably not in the offing. We wait patiently every night to see if the slump continues. If Mookie and Ohtani don’t get out of their respective offensive funks I don’t think Smith and FF can carry the team by themselves.
Go Dodgers!
This is why I’m not a fan of these huge loooong term contracts that go beyond the players 35th birthday. We have Ohtani, Betts and Smith on those types of deals.
A lot of players on them now, Judge, Soto, Harper, Correa, just to name a few.
This is also why I hope we don’t go after Kyle Tucker in the offseason. He’s already 30 and will want minimum 7 years.
Agree with you on the Tucker pursuit. If they truly have the best group of 19 and 20 year old prospects that Friedman has ever seen (many of them outfielders – 4 who are already top 100 prospects – please don’t block them by signing Kyle Tucker for 7 years). Fill it with an outfielder on a one or two year contract until the youngsters arrive. I would say sign Tucker for three years with high AV but he and his agent are not going to do that.
Good catch. I am not sure Guggenheim worries about such things. He is spending money on the Lakers too.
I would support moving Mookie down in the order to take some pressure off. Hell we move the bottom of the order around daily. Might move Ohtani too. It could be fluid. As far as position moves, I think we play with the positions we have set and the platoons Save the big moves for next year. Now we finish this season for better or worse. It’s not up to Doc or AF, it’s on the players. They will win it or lose it . Thanks for the wishes from tedraymond, Tom and Bear about my hospital stay.
Hop you are doing well, Phil. Enjoy your perspective. Wholeheartedly agree. The offensive die is cast for this year. The offense will rise or fall with Ohtani, Betts, Smith, Freeman, Teoscar, and Muncy. Re-assess in the off-season.
Thanks NH Dodger.
Missed whatever you posted about a hospital stay Phil. Hope you’re doing ok.
Thanks STB. They let me leave the hospital in time to watch the Dodger game. A very long 6 days.
Thanks again
They really have no choice. There are still some pundits who say LA will go after Japanese third baseman, Munetaka Murakami in the winter. He will cost a lot. Muncy will cost 10 million. He is a known quality. Murakami is not. But he is only 25 years old and an established star in Japan.
Well, so much for moving anyone.
Ohtani
Betts
Freeman
Muncy
Teo
Conforto
Pages
Freeland (2b)
Rushing
So, instead Betts gets a spank?
You all will be asking for Mookies forgiveness in October
LHP prospect Adam Serwinowski made his organizational debut after being acquired at the trade deadline:
6.1 IP
1 H
0 ER
4 BB
9 K
83 P / 51 S
He was brought to the Dodgers from Cincinnati in the Hunter Feduccia deal
More than the hit, I’m happy to see Mookie see 6-7 pitches per at bat. THAT is a huge sign
Welcome back Max. We really missed you!!!!
Freeland looks pretty comfortable at 2nd base.
I may cry if Mookie has actually found something (like Freddie about 3 weeks ago)
Rushing is beginning to make Barnes look like a masher
Are we trying to leap to conclusions wildly now?
It would be nice if Rushing would start hitting but it’s not imperative that he does. It’s tough only playing twice a week as a rookie. He just needs to give Smith rest to keep him fresh and provide solid defense like tonight
Bobby Miller needed just 6 pitches to get through his scoreless inning for AAA OKC. Miller has gone scoreless in 3 relief outings in a row.
Great sign that he threw to weak contact, and that he’s featuring his change, both adjustments I think we’re going to see more of.
Threw 2 changeups, and 2 FBs that were 99. Also flipped in a slider and 1 curveball.
https://fxtwitter.com/Bnicklaus7/status/1952896776530493627
Another steal by AF?
I watched part of that game, dude has some serious stuff.
This game signals Betts return to the Mookie we all know and love.
The Dodgers batting line-up by the playoffs —
Ohtani DH
Betts SS
Freeman 1B
Smith C
Muncy 3B
Teo RF
Edman CF
Pages LF
Kim or Freeland 2B
NO Conforto, I’d even play Kiki over him.
Thank God Muncy is back.
And he picked up where he left off before the injury.
Sometimes it just takes one game…
Mookie had five plate appearances tonight and only made one out–and that was a productive grounder that advanced Shohei to 3B, setting up Freddie’s sac fly for the first-inning lead. Mookie would go on to have two singles, a double and a walk. Scored three runs.
Really nice to think that the real Mookie is back…. And I’d like to think the support of the fans helped.
Also nice to see Max pick up where he left off–on a hot streak. How much of the Dodgers’ recent could be traced to his absence? And tonight it seemed like he inspired Teo out of his slump. Two HRs each from Max and Teo… but Mookie’s three hits seem more important in greater scheme.
And Sheehan was excellent. Five innings with 5 Ks and one walk. The two runs were unearned. Threw 76 pitches, 49 for strikes. Next time, maybe Roberts will trust him with another inning.