The Dodgers made the shocking decision to not tender outfielder Cody Bellinger in time for the Friday deadline, which would have been unthinkable just two seasons ago. This marks the first time in Bellinger’s professional career that he has been able to sign with any team as a free agent.
Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers, acknowledged, “Obviously, it’s been a unique path for Cody as he’s battled through injuries and worked diligently over the past few years to return to his All-Star-caliber performance.” “However, it hasn’t worked out as well as we would have hoped or expected, and so we had to make the tough decision of non-tendering.”
Bellinger’s final season of salary arbitration eligibility was expected to yield a salary of over $20 million. Even if the Dodgers are confident in Bellinger’s ability to turn things around at the plate next year, they were unwilling to pay that much money given his lackluster performance the past two years.
Bellinger’s time in California may not be over as a result of the transfer. The Dodgers will make an effort to re-sign him at a reduced salary, but this won’t be easy. It’s expected that the center fielder will have a lot of suitors. As per Friedman, the Dodgers considered trading Bellinger before the non-tender deadline, but nothing came of it.
Dodgers Non-Tender Cody Bellinger, Making Him A Free Agent
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger, 27, who won the MVP award in 2019, was not tendered on Friday. While the move was somewhat expected, it nonetheless encapsulated Bellinger’s dramatic offensive decline.
In 2023, Bellinger’s final season before becoming a free agent, he was set to earn somewhere around $18 million. Instead, Bellinger will test the waters of free agency a year early, though he and his agent, Scott Boras, may be able to work out a new deal with the Dodgers that extends over more years and pays him less per year.
With the departures of Trea Turner, Justin Turner, Craig Kimbrel, Tyler Anderson, Andrew Heaney, and David Price, the Los Angeles Dodgers, fresh off two consecutive 100-win seasons, find themselves in desperate need of a center fielder while simultaneously freeing up more than $100 million in payroll space.
Despite maintaining Gold Glove-caliber defense at that position and plus speed on the bases, Bellinger’s offensive struggles eventually became intolerable.
With a deadline of 8 p.m. ET, teams had to make a decision on whether or not to tender a 2023 contract to their players, which led to a flurry of minor trades and pre-arbitration agreements. The final number of players not tendered was over 70.
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Other players of note include: outfielders Trevor Gott (Milwaukee Brewers), Alex Reyes (St. Louis Cardinals), Kyle Funkhouser (Detroit Tigers), and Dominic Smith (New York Mets); catchers Jorge Alfaro (San Diego Padres) and Luis Torrens (Seattle Mariners) and first baseman Luke Voit (Washington Nationals) and utility man Brian Anderson (Miami Marlins); and first baseman
From National League MVP To Unsigned Free Agent: Cody Bellinger
The Dodgers continued to have 100-win seasons with him in center field, but this decision solidifies one of the more bizarre falls from grace in recent baseball history.
After a season in which he hit.305/.406/.629 with 47 home runs and played above-average right field, Bellinger won the MLB MVP award and looked like one of the league’s next big stars. Next came a down year in 2020, followed by two more in which he hit.193/.256/.355 with a 27.1% strikeout rate (up from 16.3% in 2019).
Bellinger’s right shoulder dislocated while he was jumping for joy after hitting the winning home run in Game 7 of the 2020 National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves, and this injury may have contributed to his team’s subsequent struggles.
Perhaps Bellinger’s finest moment as a Dodger, the home run was followed by overly enthusiastic high-fiving of his teammates, which revealed a serious injury to Bellinger’s shoulder.
However, this is not to say that Bellinger has been unplayable for the Dodgers, as he has shown significant defensive value as a well-above-average center fielder in recent years and is also a positive presence in the Los Angeles clubhouse.
Despite having a terrible 2021 campaign, he still managed 1.2 bWAR that year. A center fielder who excels in the field but is only average at the plate isn’t what the Dodgers had in mind after 2019, nor is he worth $18 million. However, teams still sign players like this.
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If Bellinger, who is still young at 27, can rediscover any of his old magic at the plate, he should find a good market among teams with a need in center field. A lottery ticket could do a lot worse than this.
Last words
“We’ve been going over it on a regular basis, and doing so adds cost,” Friedman said. Every detail is taken into account. In no way has anyone ever said, “Hey, we have to get under.” The key has been to assemble a group of top performers.
The last two years have seen us at our most aggressive, not only in terms of payroll but also in terms of tax payments. All of this is taken into account, and as we approach the threshold again this year, it will be one more factor in our acquisition decision.
Over the next few months, the team will “vet all of our various options and try to be aggressive as we can, while balancing that with trying to give some opportunity to some of the talented young pitching that we have, some of the talented young position players.”
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