The case for Betts, Freeman to take home NL MVP

This story was excerpted from Juan Toribio’s Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

LOS ANGELES -- James Outman got awards week started for the Dodgers, becoming the ninth rookie in franchise history to finish either second or third in National League Rookie of the Year Award voting.

Outman, as expected, finished third behind D-backs star Corbin Carroll, who won the award unanimously, and Mets ace Kodai Senga, who made a successful transition to the big leagues from Japan at age 30.

While Outman got the Dodgers on the board, at least as a finalist, the attention now shifts to Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, who are finalists for NL MVP. The winner will be announced on MLB Network at 3 p.m. PT on Thursday. The favorite is Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr., who became the first player to hit 40-plus homers and steal 70-plus bases.

While Acuña might have a leg up for the award, let’s make a couple of cases for Betts and Freeman. And full disclosure here: I was one of the 30 voters for the award this year, though I can’t reveal who I voted for until after the winner is announced.

Anyway, here we go.

Betts’ case for his second MVP, first in the National League

Over the years, it’s been difficult for voters to nail down the definition of most valuable for the voting. If the award is who posted the best individual numbers, then it’s hard to argue with Acuña. Now, if voters want to get literal with the name of the award, there was perhaps nobody more “valuable” to a team than Betts.

In the past decade, Betts has established himself as the best defensive right fielder in baseball. His six-year run of securing a Gold Glove at the position ended in 2023. The reason? Because he spent a lot of his time at second base, and some at shortstop, this season.

Betts has long said he prefers to play the infield. It’s the position he grew up playing and it’s where he envisioned himself as he came up through the Red Sox's farm system. In 2023, with the Dodgers desperately needing a shortstop following injuries to Gavin Lux and Miguel Rojas, it was Betts who stepped up in a pinch. Then, after Miguel Vargas struggled offensively, Betts slid over to second in order to allow Jason Heyward to get in the lineup against righties, giving the team their best offensive unit.

The ability for Betts to move around and play a couple of positions at a high level defensively allowed the Dodgers to field their best team. That definitely should give you some added consideration for the award. If you’re more into the numbers, Betts had that, too. He finished with a career-high 39 homers. Unfortunately for Betts, his season ended on a sour note, going hitless in the postseason for the first time in his career. But this is a regular-season award, and not many players were better than Betts this season.

Freeman’s case for his second MVP and first in a full season

Dodgers fans knew Freeman was a good hitter. They watched him terrorize the Dodgers for more than a decade while he was in Atlanta. But over the past two seasons, it’s been impossible to miss that Freeman isn’t just a good hitter. He’s elite.

Freeman set a new Dodgers record with 59 doubles this season and fell one shy of becoming the first player to hit 60 in a single season since the 1930s. To go along with that, Freeman also hit 29 homers, finishing with a .331 batting average. Oh, and he recorded 211 hits, eclipsing the 200-hit mark for the first time in his career.

Ever since Freeman got to Los Angeles, the 2020 NL MVP has changed the culture. His offensive approach has become infectious in the clubhouse and constantly encourages his teammates to focus on using the entire field, not just selling out for power. Freeman’s impact also comes from the fact that he wants to be in the lineup every day.

This season, Freeman played in 161 games. The only game he missed was the day after the Dodgers clinched the NL West, and even that came with a long discussion between him and manager Dave Roberts. Freeman’s greatness seems to go under the radar often, but the first baseman put together a historic season in ‘23.