“We just have to find a way as a collective unit to cover him,” Shohei Ohtani said when his teammate Mookie Betts fractured his wrist. The two-way phenom knew that the absence of Betts was hard to fill and that the Los Angeles Dodgers needed to step up. With the lead-off duties shifted to him, Ohtani decided to lead by example. That was visible in his performances, which suddenly had a huge spike, and now that has threatened Betts’ long-term position as the leadoff.

Though the 2018 MVP was putting up elite numbers as a leadoff, Ohtani’s currently operating on a different stratosphere. Since June 17, Ohtani has hit 8 Home runs with over 1.000 OPS. On top of that, he has given multiple game-winning performances, which have led to consistent calls to turn him into a full-time leadoff hitter. While that is something that even Dave Roberts isn’t completely closed on, it’s important to understand what Mookie Betts thinks. 

Still rehabbing from injury, Betts was recently interviewed about Ohtani’s move. In a characteristically team-first manner, Betts was completely open to giving space to the two-way phenom. “I don’t care. Shohei belongs wherever he wants to go he can be there. Once he decides what he wants to do, I’ll get in where I fit in,” Betts said. 

Betts’ shift to No. 2 has been a topic of discussion for a long time. Though Betts’ leadoff work was credible, the sheer aggressiveness of Shotime has made him an effective launching pad for the entire Dodgers attack. However, while that is a big possibility, there’s another surprising development that could take place once Betts returns.

Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts recently shared that he has a unique plan for Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. A plan that shows how versatile the Blue Crew’s front three actually is.

Dave Roberts remains unsure regarding Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts’ position 

While Doc is highly impressed with Shohei Ohtani’s performance, he explained that there are a lot of things he needs to think of before signing off on a permanent shift. During an appearance on Dodgers Territory, he explained that he wishes to separate Freeman and Ohtani from each other. Partly because of their explosiveness, Doc doesn’t like having Ohtani and Freeman go one after the other.

“Certainly teams are going to go with the lefty whenever they can and not have to pay a right-handed hitter tax, something that we’re going to go away from once Mookie gets back,” Roberts said. “So to your question, is he going to hit leadoff? I don’t know that yet.” So there’s a high chance that Ohtani remains in the leadoff spot. 

But then, Roberts also shared that he was confident in one lineup. That had Betts as leadoff, Ohtani in No. 2, followed by Will Smith and Freddie Freeman. However, there are still doubts over pushing Freeman so down the order. Until then, it seems the leadoff is Ohtani’s to have and that’s exciting news for his fans.