Cody Bellinger enjoyed plenty of highs since being selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB Draft, but he’s endured recent struggles and now reached free agency one year earlier than initially anticipated.
Bellinger was due to go through a fourth and final year of salary arbitration, but the Dodgers chose to non-tender the 2019 National League MVP and he became a free agent. Prior to the Dodgers making their decision by the deadline, the Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays were among the teams with reported interest in Bellinger.
Now that the 27-year-old is on the open market and free to negotiate with all teams, “Dodger Talk” host David Vassegh said Bellinger is fielding interest from the San Francisco Giants and several other teams, via SportsNet LA:
“What I’m hearing, and I heard this even before the World Series was over, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Toronto Blue Jays, and now in the last three days or so, my sources are telling me the San Francisco Giants have heavy interest in Cody. Which makes sense because Farhan Zaidi is running that, Gabe Kapler was the farm director when Cody came up, so those two guys believe and know what the ceiling is for him.”
Since being voted MVP, Bellinger has hit .203/.272/.376 with 46 doubles, 41 home runs and 134 RBI across 295 games the past three years. He did bounce back from career-worst struggles in 2021, but still had a high strikeout rate and failed to consistently make quality contact year.
In addition to external teams, the Dodgers are open to re-signing Bellinger. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman seemingly is interested in doing such under more team-friendly terms.
Had the Dodgers and Bellinger proceeded with the arbitration process, he likely would have earned a salary in the range of $18 million to $20 million in 2023.
If the Dodgers don’t re-sign Bellinger, they may look to some combination of James Outman, Chris Taylor and Trayce Thompson to play center field.
Dodgers may turn to Aaron Judge without Cody Bellinger
Both prior to and since their non-tender decision, the Dodgers have been linked to Aaron Judge rumors. However, the general sense is he will decide between re-signing with the New York Yankees or joining the Giants.
Judge and representatives from the Giants front office reportedly are going to meet Tuesday.
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