50 Mookie Betts CF

Manager Alex Cora said Betts will hit second in 2019, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Betts and Andrew Benintendi will swap places in the order in an attempt to maximize Betts' value. The 2018 AL MVP hit a ridiculous .346/.438/.640 with 32 homers and 30 stolen bases across 136 games, though he failed to reach 100 RBI for the first time in three seasons given his placement atop the order. Shifting Betts to the two hole should allow the star to contribute more evenly across the board in 2019 (after racking up 129 runs compared to 80 RBI).

Betts was named the 2018 American League Most Valuable Player on Thursday.

The awards keep piling up for Betts, who was also honored with a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger for his stellar 2018 campaign. The 26-year-old was incredible across the board for the World Series champs, joining the 30-30 club (32 homers, 30 stolen bases) while leading the majors in batting average (.346), slugging percentage (.640) and runs scored (129). Betts has solidified himself as one of the bonafide five-tool superstars in the league.

Betts is not in the lineup against the Yankees on Saturday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Betts will take a seat after going 1-for-3 with two walks and a pair of runs in Friday's series opener. In his place, Blake Swihart will start in right field and bat eighth.

Betts went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and two runs scored in Monday's 6-2 win over Baltimore.

Betts delivered a two-run blast in the second inning to extend Boston's lead to four. He continues to play at a high level as the regular season winds down, collecting three straight games with a home run and going 22-for-62 through 17 games in September. Betts will look to stay hot heading into the postseason, with the Red Sox having clinched the No. 1 seed in the American League.

Betts went 4-for-6 with a solo home run, two doubles and two runs scored Sunday against the Indians.

Betts has been resting regularly due to side soreness but played in the outfield for the first time in a week. When he's been in the lineup, he's remained effective and that was no different Sunday, when he launched his 31st home run of the season. While it's unclear how much he'll play in the last week of the season, he has performed too well when he's taken the field to consider other options.