Dave Roberts Reveals Mookie Betts as Primary Leadoff Hitter But With a Catch vs Right-Handed Pitchers

The Los Angeles Dodgers traded for Mookie Betts and now have a perennial All-Star at their disposal. Betts slashed .295/.391/.524 in 2019, a year after his mind-boggling line of .346/.438/.640 in 2018 that earned him the AL MVP award.

The goal for Dave Roberts is to maximize Betts' opportunities at the plate, and the Dodgers plan to do that by utilizing their star acquisition in the leadoff spot.

#Dodgers Dave Roberts said he talked with Mookie Betts and he will be the primary leadoff hitter. Might move to No. 2 occasionally against RH pitching (to put a lefty like Joc Pederson leadoff). "That's where he feels comfortable and that's where we're at right now."
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) February 21, 2020

The only catch, as explained by Dave Roberts, is that Betts will slide to the second spot in the order at times against right-handed pitching.

Betts is a much more stable option than Joc Pederson at the leadoff spot, so he should be expected to feature atop the order more often than not. In 2019 with the Red Sox, Betts slashed .326/.373/.568 with four homers in the 102 games in which he was the first batter to the plate. It's easy to see why Roberts is keen on sending him up first in Los Angeles.

.@mookiebetts is all smiles. pic.twitter.com/4RpTntK7A3
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 17, 2020

The Dodgers already had one of the best lineups in baseball in 2019. Now the team is adding an MVP-caliber player to the top of the order where he should lead the team in at-bats. That is quite the recipe for success.