In a move that was unthinkable just two seasons ago, the Dodgers decided not to tender outfielder Cody Bellinger before the deadline on Friday. The move makes Bellinger, the 2019 NL MVP, a free agent for the first time in his career.
“Obviously, it’s been a unique road for Cody as he’s battled injuries and worked diligently over the last few years to return to All-Star caliber performance,” said the president of baseball operations of the Dodgers, Andrew Friedman. “However, it has not worked out as well as we would have hoped or hoped and so we have had to make the difficult decision not to tender.”
Bellinger was slated to make more than $20 million in his final season eligible for salary arbitration. Given Bellinger’s low production at the plate in each of the last two seasons, that was a number the Dodgers didn’t feel comfortable paying, even if they believe Bellinger can bounce back next season.
The move doesn’t necessarily end Bellinger’s time in Los Angeles. The Dodgers will try to bring him back at a lower price, but it will be a difficult task. The midfielder is expected to have many suitors. Friedman said the Dodgers explored trading Bellinger before the non-tender deadline, but talks never materialized.
Now that Bellinger is a free agent and can sign for less money, the Rays, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Cubs and Marlins are among a long list of teams that will be interested in his services.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say this is the closing of the chapter for Cody and the Dodgers,” Friedman said. “We still have a lot of faith in Cody’s talent and his competitive makeup, and we have interest in a meeting and will continue to have conversations with Cody and his group. And he gets to talk about it on his side.”
The expected large group of suitors for Bellinger will be due to the possibility that he will take advantage of what made him one of the best players in the MLB. Bellinger hit 39 homers in 2017 and took home the NL Rookie of the Year award. In ’19, he hit 47 homers and passed Christian Yelich for his first MVP award.
That kind of production became what the Dodgers and Bellinger hoped for, but it became impossible to recreate. In ’20, Bellinger dislocated his non-pitching shoulder while celebrating a home run in Game 7 of the NLCS. He had surgery in the offseason, which sidelined him for a few weeks in spring training.
During the first week of the ’21 season, Bellinger fractured his left fibula on a freak play against the Athletics. As he dealt with injuries, Bellinger was never able to get going at the plate. He finished the year with 10 homers and a .542 OPS, one of the worst ranked hitters in the Majors.
Bellinger entered spring training this year excited about his added strength. But the results never came, and he posted a .654 OPS in 144 games. That lack of production led the Dodgers to bench Bellinger in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Padres, even with right-hander Joe Musgrove on the mound.
“I thought last offseason, I was very confident [about a bounce-back season]and it didn’t show on the 22nd,” Friedman said of Bellinger. “There’s very little known about what we do. … We still really believe in Cody’s talent and feel he’s as committed as ever to finding it.
“That, along with the talent we have in our weight room, on our coaching staff, we feel like, collectively with him, we could figure it out. But then again, I felt that way coming into 22. I feel like this again around 23”.
Bellinger is 27 years old and still plays elite defense in center field. The argument for offering him a contract revolved around giving him one last chance to figure things out in Los Angeles. But with the Dodgers needing to upgrade other positions, primarily the starting pitching staff, his price tag became too heavy at this point in the offseason.
With Bellinger out of the lineup, the Dodgers have Trayce Thompson and Chris Taylor slated to play center field. James Outman is also an option. The Dodgers will also be aware of free agent outfielders such as Kevin Kiermaier, who was drafted by the Rays in 2010 for Friedman.
Los Angeles has shed nearly $100 million from the payroll since the start of free agency, but is likely to enter the ’23 season with less payroll than the previous two years.
The Dodgers also did not tender infielder Luke Williams, who was claimed off waivers by the Marlins last week, and infielder Edwin Ríos, who hit seven homers in 27 games for the Dodgers last season.