Bellinger was released as a non-tender by the Los Angeles Dodgers at the end of last year’s season and gained FA status. 토토 The Dodgers decided that it would be better to kick out Bellinger, who is in his sixth full-time Major League season, than to give him an annual salary of $17 million.
That’s because Bellinger has been at the bottom for two consecutive seasons from 2021 to 2022. Bellinger, who became the National League MVP in 2019 and established himself as the best left-handed hitter and center fielder in the Major League, fell sharply in 2021 after a shortened season in 2020. He had a batting average of 0.165 and an OPS of 0.542 in 95 games. It was not the Bellinger that Dodgers fans knew. He was on the injured list three times, including a calf bruise, a hamstring sprain, and a rib fracture, and could not play properly.
In 2022, he recovered with a batting average of 0.210 with 19 home runs and an OPS of 0.654 in 144 games, but it did not fill the Dodgers’ last name. Bellinger’s extreme slump for two consecutive seasons was due to a shoulder injury.
After hitting a final solo home run in the seventh inning in Game 7 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves in 2020, he suffered an abnormality in his left shoulder while performing a radical ceremony with Kiki Hernandez. Eventually, he underwent surgery that winter, and it collapsed sharply from 2021.
Bellinger’s agent Scott Boras explained this series of processes to each club last winter, confident of a comeback in 2023. In fact, three to four teams offered specific conditions, and Boras’ strategy was to play for only one year and become an FA again. Eventually, Bellinger will join hands with Cubs, which offered $12.5 million in annual salary in 2023, $12.5 million in mutual options in 2024, and $5 million in buyouts.
Boras said in an ESPN interview last month, “There is something I have emphasized about the Cubs officials, including President Jed Hoyer. “If the OPS has never gone below 0.800 in three years and the rookie and MVP players suddenly fall to 0.550-0.650, it’s certainly not a matter of skill,” he said. “Cody only lost his strength after undergoing shoulder surgery.” Jed agreed. A healthy coordinator can be seen as a five-tool MVP, he said.
Boras’s conviction became a reality. Bellinger missed this season for a month due to a knee injury, but marked a batting average of 0.307 (153 hits in 499 at-bats), 26 home runs, 97 RBIs and an OPS of 0.881 in 130 games. In particular, the strikeout rate decreased significantly from 27.3% to 15.7% in 2022, signaling that he has recovered his condition.
Is there a factor for the Dodgers to call back Bellinger, who succeeded in making a comeback. The Dodgers center fielder this year is rookie James Outman. He batted .248 (120 for 483) with 23 home runs, 70 RBIs and an OPS of 0.790 in 151 games. He was quite the starting player for the first full-time season. It doesn’t seem likely to send a love call back to Bellinger.
Above all, however, the weight is focused on the fact that Bellinger does not want to return to the Dodgers. In this regard, Dodgers Nation said on the 27th, “There is no way that Cody can hope for a return to the Dodgers.” In the 2022 playoffs, the Dodgers started Tracy Thompson in center field instead of Cody. The incident must have caused deep wounds that are difficult to recover,’ he said.
That year, manager Dave Rover removed Bellinger from the starting lineup in games 3 and 4 of the division series against the San Diego Padres. In particular, even though San Diego’s fourth game starter was right-handed Joe Musgrove, the Dodgers used right-handed hitter Thompson instead of left-handed hitter Bellinger. Of course, it was an opportunity for the trust between the two sides to completely collapse.
Bleacher Report shed light on Bellinger’s FA market on the same day, estimating the estimated ransom to be more than $162 million for eight years. It is a contract signed by center fielder Brandon Nemo with the New York Mets last winter. It is expected that Bellinger will be more expensive than Nemo.
At the same time, Blytherpo was considered to be a club that could sign with Bellinger in the order of the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, San Diego, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, and Minnesota Twins. There is no Dodgers.
