Three years after being voted National League MVP, Cody Bellinger was sent into free agency due to the Los Angeles Dodgers electing to non-tender him.
The possibility began to increase as Bellinger struggled through another season and was benched for Game 4 of the National League Division Series. The 27-year-old was poised to go through salary arbitration for the fourth and final time of his career.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman commended Bellinger for how he received the news of the non-tender.
Although the development is due to reaching a low point in Bellinger’s career, agent Scott Boras said he has received multi-year contract offers that are likely to be declined, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:
“I’ve already been offered multi-years,” Boras said Sunday, two days after the Dodgers declined to tender Bellinger a contract for 2023. “Most likely, because of his age, we don’t want a multi-year.”
While Bellinger reached free agency in what would be the prime of a player’s career, not accepting a multi-year contract would prove to be a risk.
Bellinger hasn’t been able to put together a strong season and struggling again in 2023 — potentially with a new team — would further hinder his free agency outlook.
Bellinger has hit just .203/.272/.376 with 46 doubles, 41 home runs and 134 RBI over 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 this past season.
Cody Bellinger interest
In addition to the Dodgers having interest in re-signing Bellinger, his market is said to include the Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays, among others as well.
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