The Los Angeles Dodgers lineup has gone through various changes over the course of this season, but the No. 1-4 spots in the order have largely remained the same. For any given game the group consisted of Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith in that order.
The quartet have largely carried the Dodgers to one of the best records in baseball and comfortable lead in the National League West. However, the Dodgers lineup is due for a major shakeup because of Mookie Betts being projected to miss six to eight weeks with a left hand fracture.
The injury to Betts has moved Ohtani into the leadoff spot, followed by Smith now batting second, Freeman batting third and Teoscar Hernández in the cleanup spot. The decision to move Smith to No. 2 in the order breaks up the lefty-lefty combo of Ohtani and Freeman, which was a possibility Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had previously considered.
When asked if Ohtani and Freeman would now be split in the Dodgers lineup moving forward, Roberts indicated that is likely to be the case, via SportsNet LA:
“I think versus the right-hander, I like this. I think versus a left-hander, I’ll probably think through it. But this feels right versus both right now.”
Freeman’s uncharacteristic struggles against lefties this season was the initial factor behind a possible shakeup of the Dodgers’ batting order. He is hitting .235/.342/.357 against southpaws this season, compared to last year when he had a .335/.399/.609 batting line.
The new lineup order made its debut on Monday against the Colorado Rockies and it produced some good results in a 9-5 win. Ohtani looked plenty comfortable batting leadoff with a three-hit night, and Freeman drew five walks before collecting a single in the ninth inning.
Smith and Hernández both contributed as well.
All-Star Game voting update: Dodgers among leaders
In the first voting update for the 2024 MLB All-Star Game, two position players for the Dodgers are in the lead in their respective races.
Betts is pacing all National League shortstops with 1,023,690 total votes, and Ohtani is in the lead at designated hitter with 1,002,377 votes.
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