Dodgers fans torn on surprise Mookie Betts decision (which already sort of paid off)

On Saturday, Mookie Betts was left out of the Dodgers' lineup for the first time since July 1. Dave Roberts explained the reasoning, but fans could draw their own conclusions; Betts has been having the worst season of his career at the plate, after a delayed start from a virus that caused him to lose almost 20 pounds. Through July 18, he was batting .241 with a .688 OPS.

After the game, Roberts insisted that he wasn't going to move Betts down the lineup despite his struggles. The next day, during LA's season finale against the Brewers, he did exactly the opposite and swapped Betts and Shohei Ohtani's usual spots in the order to put Betts at leadoff for the first time since June 16, 2024.

The move was met with some immediate criticism. While Betts could use the extra opportunities that comes from batting leadoff, why take those opportunities away from the team's best hitter?

However, the move did pay off for the Dodgers quickly on Sunday. Betts struck out in his first at-bat but singled in his second, which allowed Ohtani to immediately bring him in on a two-run homer. Ohtani not getting RBI opportunities was a problem for the Dodgers early in the season, so if Betts does end up improving in the leadoff spot, it could turn into a win-win.

Dodgers make unexpected move and swap Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts' positions in the lineup

Betts went hitless through the rest of the game, which the Dodgers eventually lost 6-5 to the Brewers, but he provided some early evidence that this new switch could help the offense find its footing.

Everyone has been baffled by Betts' underperformance this year, and some blame has been directed to his move to shortstop. He's insisted throughout the year that more of a focus on defense hasn't affected his hitting (and he has actually become one of the better defensive shortstops in baseball after a year filled with trial and error), but he was far less unsure about that during his off-day.

"You get so lost in it," Betts said of the slump. "Once you go down a rabbit hole — not a rabbit hole like I'm chasing something — but once you get down so far, up is so high that you just don't even care about it anymore. Obviously, yes, I do want to play better. But where I was and where I am now, it's so night and day different."

He's striking out at a similarly low rate as last season (11.3%), but he's not making hard contact. He's gone offsite to work on his swing, and both Roberts and Dodgers' hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc have remained optimistic. Betts is too, saying he "loves the process of it," but that won't make Dodgers fans any less impatient to see what they've come to expect from him.