Should the Dodgers move Betts down in the lineup?

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers have hit their stride of late, winning 18 of their last 24 games to build a sizable lead in the NL West as we near the halfway point of their regular-season schedule.

The back-to-back champions have done this despite injuries to key players and underperformance from some of their stars, so I figured now would be a good time for a mailbag. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions, which have been lightly edited for clarity. Let's get into it:

Do you think it’s time to seriously consider moving Mookie Betts down in the lineup? His production has been very sporadic and he’s been truncating rallies, especially when he hits in front of Kyle Tucker.
-- Manuel D., Fresno, Calif.

I think there is a case for dropping Betts farther down in the lineup, but I'll flip around the question: Who would you rather see hitting cleanup right now?

The top three of Shohei Ohtani, Andy Pages and Freddie Freeman feels right, but beyond them, it's murkier. Tucker has yet to find his groove. There's a case for Max Muncy to hit higher, but that would put three lefties in the top four. Pages could thrive in the cleanup spot -- he leads qualified Dodgers with a 1.070 OPS with runners on -- but then L.A. would have to figure out what to do with the No. 2 spot.

I'd like to see Betts adopt his mentality from the end of last year, when he freed his mind by shifting his focus toward doing little things to help the team win every night. He turned things around for the final two months of the regular season, and I think he could have a similar resurgence in him this year. But it would be better for him and the Dodgers if he were able to reframe his mindset sooner rather than later.

Are the Dodgers gonna keep using a six-man rotation for the entire season, even after Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow return from the IL? Because both are injury prone, and this is the first season for Shohei Ohtani as a full-time starter after his second elbow surgery, so they need to manage his workload, too.
-- Xiang L., Toronto

For as long as the Dodgers have at least six viable starters on the 40-man roster, we can safely expect them to run a six-man rotation. Even without the injury history of some of their pitchers and Ohtani's unique workload considerations, the Dodgers have found that giving their starters at least five days' rest in between outings is the best way to set them up for success.

The only problem would be if the Dodgers run out of healthy pitchers, as they nearly did when Snell went on the IL. If that happens again, they may need to seek help outside the 40-man roster -- from organizational depth on Minor League deals or potential external additions -- in order to continue using a six-man rotation.

Not only has the current arrangement helped the Dodgers' rotation to be one of the best in baseball, but it has also trickled down to the bullpen, which has thrived with a far less intensive workload than last year. That's another reason that continuing with a six-man rotation is a priority.

What would have to happen to push the Dodgers to add James Tibbs III to the 40-man and call him up? We definitely could use his production from a corner-outfield spot. I understand that he is completely blocked at this time.
-- Adam W., Stockton, Calif.

The way I see it, the Dodgers wouldn't call up Tibbs unless they were certain they could give him some extended runway at the big league level. When Teoscar Hernández went on the IL with a strained left hamstring, I noticed that many fans wanted to see Tibbs promoted to replace him. The fact that Ryan Ward (who was already on the 40-man roster) got the call instead was indicative of the fact that the Dodgers didn't necessarily feel they had everyday opportunities for Tibbs just yet.

Tibbs, who's ranked as the Dodgers' No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline, has raked at Triple-A Oklahoma City. If there's a point where the big league club feels that its offense needs a spark, then he would be a great option to provide that. But as he continues to develop, playing every day would be best for Tibbs.