Dodgers' Hated Rival Heaps Praise on Mookie Betts
ESPN came out with their rankings of the top 100 MLB players ahead of the 2024 season earlier this week. Two Los Angeles Dodgers players made the top five, with Mookie Betts at No. 4 and Freddie Freeman at No. 5. Shohei Ohtani was disrespectfully low at No. 9.
As for Betts and Freeman, though, only Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. (No. 1) and New York Yankees' Aaron Judge (No. 2) and' Juan Soto (No. 3) ranked higher than the Dodgers' duo.
Now, ESPN has asked several players from across the league to chime in on which rankings they thought were accurate or not. Former Houston Astros star and current Minnesota Twins' shortstop Carlos Correa offered some of his takes, including that Betts should have ranked higher than Soto.
"I'd put Mookie Betts ahead of [Juan Soto], because he is an all-round player who can do everything. Juan is one of the best hitters in the game, but Mookie's defense just sets him apart."
— Carlos Correa, via ESPN's Buster Olney.
Betts is certainly proving how much of a weapon he is defensively. With teammate Gavin Lux struggling at shortstop, the Dodgers moved Betts to shortstop for the time being to help fill the need. Betts has already shown his versatility by switching from the outfield to second base before the move to shortstop.
On top of the versatility, Betts is a flat out award winning defender. Betts is a six-time Gold Glove winner, a six-time Fielding Bible award winner and a two-time Wilson Defensive Player of the Year, when the award was still given out from 2012-19.
Given that Betts is both an award-winning defender and a Silver Slugger — he slashed .307/.408/.579 with 39 home runs and 107 RBIs last year — whereas Soto has not been known for his defensive prowess, it makes sense that Correa values what Betts can do on both sides of the baseball.
Correa has his history with the Dodgers, but he's making sure Betts gets the praise he rightfully deserves.
