Will Cody Bellinger, who is considered one of the biggest players in the free agent market, be able to return to his parents’ home?
Bellinger was released as a non-tender by the Los Angeles Dodgers at the end of last year’s season and gained free agency status. The Dodgers decided that it would be better to kick Bellinger, who is in his sixth full-time season in the major leagues, rather than give him an annual salary of $17 million.
That’s because Bellinger struggled at the bottom for two consecutive seasons in 2021 and 2022. Bellinger, who was named National League (NL) MVP in 2019 and established himself as the best left-handed hitter and center fielder in the Major League, suffered a sudden drop 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. This was not the Bellinger that Dodgers fans knew. He was unable to play properly as he was placed on the injured list three times, including a calf contusion, a hamstring strain, and a fractured rib.
In 2022, he showed signs of recovery with a batting average of 0.210, 19 home runs, and an OPS of 0.654 in 144 games, but was not selected by the Dodgers. In this way, the reason Bellinger fell into extreme slump for two consecutive seasons was because of his shoulder injury.
In Game 7 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves in 2020, after hitting a final solo home run in the 7th inning, an abnormality occurred in his left shoulder while celebrating violently with Kiki Hernández. In the end, I had surgery that winter, and starting in 2021, I fell apart rapidly.
Bellinger’s agent, Scott Boras, explained this series of processes to each club last winter and was confident of a comeback in 2023. In fact, 3-4 teams presented specific conditions, but Boras’ strategy was to play for only one year and then become a free agent again. In the end, Bellinger was taken by the Cubs, who offered an annual salary of $12.5 million in 2023, a mutual option of $12.5 million in 2024, and a buyout of $5 million.
Boras said in an ESPN interview last month, “There is something I emphasized to Cubs officials, including President Jed Hoyer. A player whose OPS has never fallen below 0.800 for three years and has maintained the range between 0.900 and 1.000, and who was named Rookie of the Year and MVP, suddenly has an OPS of 0.550 to 0.550. “If it drops to 0.650, it’s definitely not a skill issue,” he said. “Cody just lost strength after having shoulder surgery. Zed agreed with this. A healthy Cody can be considered a 5-tool MVP.”
Boras’ confidence became reality. Despite missing a month this season due to a knee injury, Bellinger recorded a batting average of 0.307 (153 hits in 499 at-bats), 26 home runs, 97 RBI, and an OPS of 0.881 in 130 games. In particular, the strikeout rate decreased significantly from 27.3% to 15.7% in 2022, indicating that he had recovered his condition.
Is there any reason for the Dodgers to call back Bellinger, who made a comeback? This year’s Dodgers center fielder is rookie James Outman. He had a batting average of 0.248 (120 hits in 483 at-bats), 23 home runs, 70 RBI, and an OPS of 0.790 in 151 games. For his first full-time season, he was quite a starter. It doesn’t seem likely that a love call will be sent to Bellinger again.
However, more than anything, the emphasis is on the fact that Bellinger does not really want to return to the Dodgers. In relation to this, Dodgers Nation said on the 27th, ‘There is no reason for Cody to wish for a return to the Dodgers. During the 2022 playoffs, the Dodgers selected Tracy Thompson as the starting center fielder instead of Cody. ‘The incident must have caused deep wounds that would be difficult to recover from,’ he said.
That year, manager Dave Rover removed Bellinger from the starting lineup for games 3 and 4 of the division series against the San Diego Padres. In particular, even though San Diego’s starter in Game 4 was right-hander 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 highlighted Bellinger’s free agent market on this day and estimated his expected ransom to be more than $162 million over eight years. This is the contract that center fielder Brandon Nimmo signed with the New York Mets last winter. It is expected that Bellinger will be more expensive than Nemo.굿모닝토토 주소
At the same time, Bleacherpo viewed the following as the clubs that could sign Bellinger: 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 are no Dodgers.