Despite his struggles the past two seasons, Cody Bellinger has been a popular name in free agency after being non-tendered by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bellinger was set to go through the arbitration process for the fourth and final time of his career with a projected salary of $18.1 million salary for 2023, according to MLB Trade Rumors. Although center field has one of the weaker groups of talent in MLB, the Dodgers were uncomfortable paying that figure on essentially an upside play.
The 2019 National League MVP has received multi-year offers, according to his agent Scott Boras, but Bellinger is looking to find the best one-year deal to hopefully regain his value.
The Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants are among the teams who have already expressed interest, and now they are joined by the Colorado Rockies, according to Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post:
Gary, sources tell me that the Rockies are indeed interested in Bellinger, but only for a one-year deal.
On the surface, the Rockies would be one of the ideal landing spots for Bellinger based on their hitter-friendly park, lack of high expectations, and large outfield for him to show off his defensive skills even more than he already has.
However, the Rockies often choose not to sell at the trade deadline even when they’re out of contention, so the chances of Bellinger joining a winning team would likely be slim. Clubs may also question any rise in production if he’s playing home games at Coors Field with seemingly no pressure.
The Rockies also have not had much success helping players rebound or break out as teams like the Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros have, so Bellinger would likely be better off signing with a more analytically sound organization that can help him optimize his swing better.
At 27 years old, Bellinger still has time to get back on track, but he’s hit just .203/.272/.376 with 46 doubles, 41 home runs and 134 RBI over 295 games the past three seasons. He did bounce back a bit from the worst season of his career in 2021, but he still had trouble making consistent contact.
Dodgers remain interested in re-signing Cody Bellinger
Although the Dodgers elected to make Bellinger a free agent, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team still has interest in re-signing him.
Despite their interest in retaining him, Friedman also revealed the Dodgers explored trading Bellinger prior to the non-tender deadline.
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