On Monday from the Winter Meetings, a day before he violated the code regarding the free agency pursuit of Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts dropped a nugget about Mookie Betts.
"It's pretty safe to say that No. 50, Mookie Betts, is going to be our everyday second baseman," Roberts said Monday on MLB Network.
Betts has of course been the Dodgers' primary right fielder. But he did start 62 games at second base last year, to go with 77 starts in right field and 12 starts at shortstop.
At 31 years old now, the move is being made to keep Betts healthier. Not that he misses many games (152 games played last year), but second base will be easier on his body.
Dave Roberts talked to Mookie Betts and agreed second base would be the best position to keep him on the field for close to 162 games. Betts will play RF at times, but primarily second base. #Dodgers
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) December 4, 2023
Betts had another fantastic season in 2023, hitting .307/.408/.579 with 39 home runs, 107 RBI, 126 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. His speed has fallen from his peak, but he walks plenty (13.9 percent last year) and doesn't strike out much (15.4 percent last year)
Fantasy baseball: Impact of Mookie Betts moving to second base primarily in 2024
Betts will already have second base eligibility in fantasy leagues, and depending on the games played threshold in a league he could also have shortstop eligibility for 2024.
Not that a top 5-to-10 overall player off the board in 2024 fantasy drafts needs anything more to bolster his appeal. But Betts has multi-position eligibility, and second base is not a deep position. Per Fantasy Pros, Betts is the only second-base eligible player in the top-24 overall picks by consensus ADP, and just four others are in the top-40 right now.
Playing most of his games at second base could, or truly should, push Betts close to 162 games played in 2024. It's hard to expect close to 40 home runs again, and a .300 batting average is subject to a correction (.316 BABIP last year; .305 career BABIP). His days of big stolen base totals are gone, with 10, 12 and 14 over the last three seasons.
But if you can live with 30-35 home runs, 85-95 RBI, over 100 runs scored, 10-15 steals and something like a .280/.370/.510 slash-line, Betts will be a fine first-round investment in fantasy baseball drafts for 2024.