Dodgers News: Cody Bellinger Reportedly Will Be Non-Tendered
The moment many of us expected has finally arrived. The Dodgers are reportedly non-tendering OF Cody Bellinger, making him a free agent. MLB insider Ken Rosenthal was among those to report on the two-time All-Star
The Dodgers plan to non-tender outfielder Cody Bellinger, making him a free agent, source tells @TheAthletic. Team could still re-sign him for less than his projected arbitration salary in the $18M range.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 18, 2022
This move doesn’t come as a surprise, as Bellinger was eligible to get around $18 million in arbitration, well above what the Dodgers would want to pay him after his underwhelming last three seasons.
Since his MVP year in 2019 when he hit .305 with 47 home runs and 115 RBIs, Bellinger is hitting just .203 with 41 home runs and 134 RBIs in 295 games. A far cry from his former self.
His defense has still been elite, which has kept him in the lineup. But you don’t pay someone $18 million for their defense, and that’s the difficult decision the Dodgers had to make.
The Dodgers can still bring Bellinger back. He’s now officially a free agent, meaning he’ll be able to negotiate with all 30 teams. But there is still a real case to bring him back.
As his agent Scott Boras said, talent is hard to come by, and Bellinger obviously has it. If he can regain even half of his 2019 form, he would make sense for the Dodgers to bring back.
But for now, his free agency officially begins, and there should be a lot of suitors for a 27-year-old former MVP and Rookie of the Year centerfielder.
Do you want to see the Dodgers bring Bellinger back? Let us know in the comments below!
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No he is washed up it is more important to find pitching They should not have let the angel s steal on of the it guys
Yes Cody is a great outfielder. Have you seen him run and catch those almost home runs he steals away. Those are amazing plays. We have a great chemistry of our players that’s why we get so far We need our team to stay together. I’m a huge Dodgers girl here and I have loved seeing them win the pennant year after year and going to the. WS and that hasn’t happened since 1988. So please keep my team together. With not only Cody but Justin too.
I’d offer Cody $7-9 million with $ incentives that could double his base salary, if he can hit .260+, 20+ homer’s, and strikes out less than 20% of his at bats.
If he goes elsewhere, I have a sneaking suspicion he will at least become an above average hitter again. I agree they should at least offer him a reduced contract with some fat incentives.
I imagine the Padres are begging the Dodgers to keep Cody in that lineup as the auto out.
Another stupid move, should have offered him a low-ball with incentives. Now we are going to have to negotiate against other teams with Boras jerking everybody around. Of course, we were going to loose him next year anyhow unless he changed agents.
I wonder wonder who we will put in CF…it won’t be Trayce for very long.
Thank god we signed Jake Reid…our worries are over now.
LOL but still plenty of off season work Dodgers need to get done.
Would love to see him back. Great defensive player and while his hitting has fallen off, he’s working on it. I believe his offense will bounce back.
Good Bye ! Now get get rid of Rob(blow it) erts.
They still can, he was up for arbitration which was around 18 million, he is a free agent now open to all offers.
Yes!! He’s a great outfielder. Plus he’s a Dodger staple. Lost so many lately it doesn’t feel like the family team we had when they won the World Series. Plus, even though his bat may be down, I believe he’s a good luck charm!
Time for Aaron Judge!