The Dodgers could re-sign Bellinger for less than the $18 million he was expected to receive in arbitration, but the former MVP’s offensive regression finally became too much to absorb.
After much internal debate and external speculation, the Cody Bellinger restoration project apparently will not continue in Los Angeles.
The Dodgers are not expected to tender a contract offer to the center fielder – one of their 11 arbitration-eligible players – before Friday’s 5 p.m. PT deadline. They will also have to decide on tendering contracts to pitchers Julio Urias, Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Caleb Ferguson, Tony Gonsolin, Evan Phillips and Yency Almonte, catcher Will Smith, outfielder Trayce Thompson and infielder Edwin Rios.Bellinger becomes a free agent now.
The National League Rookie of the Year in 2017 and the NL MVP in 2019, Bellinger has regressed significantly for three seasons since those achievements. While remaining an elite defender in center field, Bellinger has hit just .203 with a .648 OPS over the past three seasons. The early success, however, drove his salary up to $17 million.
The Dodgers had hoped that a healthy season following shoulder surgery in November 2020 and a leg fracture in April 2021 would allow Bellinger to reverse his decline. But he hit .210 with a .654 OPS and 150 strikeouts and was not in the starting lineup for half of the Dodgers’ four-game visit to the postseason this year.
Friday’s decision is an acknowledgment from the Dodgers that even their deep financial resources can no longer absorb paying a .200-hitting outfielder $18 million . They made a similar decision when they declined to exercise the club option in Justin Turner’s contract, preferring to try and negotiate a new deal for less than the $16 million it guaranteed the veteran third baseman.
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