The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming off a 100-win season in 2023, and they are looking to follow that up with another dominant campaign this year and a World Series victory.
To achieve this goal, the Dodgers went all-in this offseason, adding two high-profile players in free agency: Former Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and his fellow countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a highly rated pitcher who was posted from Japan this offseason.
Besides these two players, the Dodgers have plenty of talent across their roster, from Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman to Tyler Glasnow and Walker Buehler, who is returning from Tommy John surgery.
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Ohtani won't be a two-way player this year
Ohtani is a great player, but a lot of his value comes from his status as an elite two-way player. This refers to his ability to hit and pitch at a high level.
However, while he excels in both categories, neither area of the game is strong enough by itself to make him a top-five player in the world.
His hitting ability alone makes him great as a designated hitter, but there is much more to the game than just hitting. Ohtani isn't a particularly great baserunner and his defense is virtually non-existent.
He can play the field but is unlikely to benefit the team in that part of the game. Rather, the best approach with Ohtani in the field is to hope that he holds his own and doesn't give up runs.
Mookie Betts is a five-tool player
Betts is a five-tool player who excels in all areas of the game: hitting for average, hitting for power, speed, throwing ability and defense. Legitimate five-tool players are exceedingly rare, and these types of guys are almost always superstars.
We’re talking about players like Mike Trout, Alex Rodriguez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Ken Griffey Jr., Ronald Acuna and prime Barry Bonds. Going back further, you'll see names like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, and Joe DiMaggio.
Betts’ value is slightly diminished when he is playing second base, but he still does more than enough in other areas of the game to offset the lesser positional value he has in this role. We also can't forget that Betts is a versatile defender capable of playing almost anywhere on the diamond. For much of his career, he played right field but he is certainly capable of playing center field at a high level. He can also play shortstop in a pinch, one of the most impactful defensive positions.
Center field is the opposite of second base in that it is a key defensive position, and the corner positions are arguably more important than second base as well. The more games Betts has at shortstop or in the outfield, the more valuable he will be to the Dodgers.
An argument can be made that Betts and Ohtani are almost on the same level as hitters. If the two are virtually equal at the plate, Betts is almost guaranteed to be the more valuable player this season because of his contributions on the field.
Numbers don’t lie
The statistics bear this out. In 2023, Betts had 8.4 WAR as a batter. He also had 2.7 dWAR as a fielder. Ohtani had 6.0 WAR as a batter in 2023, but he had 4.0 WAR as a pitcher. He has also been a consistently negative fielder in terms of dWAR, whereas Betts is slightly positive.
Even in Ohtani’s 46-home run 2021 campaign, he only collected 4.6 WAR. In the past three seasons, Betts has racked up 19 WAR as a batter. Ohtani has earned 14.3 WAR at the plate during that same timeframe but has supplemented that with 14.2 WAR on the mound.
This clearly makes Ohtani the better overall player when they are both at full health. However, with “Shotime” coming off Tommy John surgery and being unable to pitch this season as a result, Betts is primed to have a significantly more productive year.
Ohtani’s surgery will still be recent as the early part of the 2024 season gets underway, and many hitters who return so soon after a major surgery sometimes struggle to regain their power. He's a great overall hitter, but a big part of his offensive game is his ability to hit long balls. If Ohtani struggles to clear the fences early in the season, it could hamper his overall offensive production even further.
This isn't to say that Ohtani is a bad hitter player if he isn't pitching, and even as a DH, he is one of the best pure hitters in the league. However, without his two-way ability, he won't be the best player on the Dodgers or one of the best all-around players in the game.
JD Martinez was an elite DH in recent years, and while he wasn't quite as good as Ohtani, he never even came close to being mentioned among the best players in the game. That's because designated hitters are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to overall value, and Ohtani is no exception. Betts is every bit as good of a hitter as Ohtani, and he is an elite defender at multiple positions.
That is why in 2024 Mookie Betts will be the most valuable player for the Dodgers.
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