Dodgers Opinion: No, the Dodgers Should Not Seek a Reunion With Bellinger

11/22/2024 09:26 PM

In a report posted by Major League Baseball insider Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic, the Chicago Cubs are actively trying to trade former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger. The idea of Bellinger, a fan favorite, being in the trade market has sparked plenty of buzz for a potential reunion. However, a trade for Bellinger should absolutely not be in the cards for the Dodgers this offseason.

Bellinger, 29, had an inconstant time with the Los Angeles Dodgers to begin his major league career. From 2017 to 2019, Bellinger was one of the league’s best hitters and a staple in the middle of a Dodgers lineup that was top in the league in multiple offensive categories.

In that timeframe, Bellinger hit a collective of .278/.368/.559 with a .928 OPS, 140 wRC+, along with 111 home runs and 288 RBIs. Due to that production, Bellinger collected some hardware, winning the 2017 National League Rookie of the Year vote, a National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award, a two-time National League All-Star (2017,2019), and becoming the fourteenth Dodgers player to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 2019.

Due to Bellinger’s success and personality, he instantly became a fan favorite and the face of the homegrown Los Angeles Dodgers core, which included names such as all-star shortstop and 2020 World Series Most Valuable Player Corey Seager and left-handed power bat Joc Pederson. However, as we know, it would quickly change the following three seasons.

After Bellinger peaked during the 2019 season, where the lefty posted ungodly numbers, including a new career-high in home runs (47) and RBI (115), he would never come close to reproducing those numbers again.

From 2020 until 2022, Bellinger had a .203/.272/.376 slash line with a .648 OPS, 79 wRC+, and a collective forty-one home runs and 134 RBIs. After another disappointing season in 2022, the Los Angeles Dodgers made the tough decision to non-tender the lefty, making him a free agent and ending his Dodgers career.

It is unfair to place all the blame on Bellinger himself for his performance. During the 2020 season, multiple all-star players had uncharacteristic seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, playing only sixty games during the regular season.

Bellinger also injured his right shoulder during that October run after celebrating too hard with utilityman Kiké Hernández after hitting a go-ahead home run against the Atlanta Braves in game seven of the National League Championship Series, forcing Bellinger to have offseason surgery.

The injury certainly had an impact during the 2021 season, but just as Bellinger was starting to turn a page, the lefty had a hairline fracture in his leg after getting spiked while hustling down the first base line trying to leg out an infield single. After a lost regular season where Belli had a .165 batting average, the lefty came up clutch on multiple occasions, including a go-ahead single in game five of the National League Division Series against the San Francisco Giants and a clutch game-tying three-run home run in game three of the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves.

With Bellinger in the open market, he signed a one-year $17.5 million contract with the Chicago Cubs, hoping to reestablish himself before entering free agency again a year later.

Bellinger would do just that, having a resurgence and putting his name back out there as one of the better players in baseball. Overall, Bellinger hit .307/.356/.525 with a .881 OPS and 136 wRC+ and helped the Cubs get into postseason contention, just missing October by one game.

His rebound year in 2023 earned him the Comeback Player of the Year award, but despite this, there were still some flaws in his game that concerned multiple clubs. Bellinger ranked in the 22nd percentile in Average Exit Velocity (87.9), 27th percentile in Barrel percentage (6.1), and 10th percentile in Hard-Hit percentage (31.4).

Multiple teams got cold feet, and the left-handed slugger did not get the big payday he and his agent Scott Boras had hoped, settling for a three-year $80 million contract with the Cubs with a player option after year one and year two.

However, after having a great year in 2023, Bellinger took another step back in 2024. Bellinger saw all his offensive numbers dip, including batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, and OPS, and went from slugging twenty-six home runs in 2023 to just eighteen in 2024.

Due to that performance, it was a no-brain decision for Bellinger to opt in for the second year of his contract, prompting the Cubs to hope someone would take him and his remaining $52.5 million salary off their hands. Enter the Cody Bellinger reunion to Los Angeles prop.

One of the first reasons fans suggest a Bellinger reunion is for team chemistry. I firmly believe in team chemistry and think clubhouse culture is vital to any winning organization. And Bellinger would be a great addition to the club in that regard. However, this Dodgers team is an entirely different team from 2022.

Justin Turner, Corey Seager, Joc Pederson, and others have left. The only remaining players from the 2022 team are Mookie Betts, Austin Barnes, Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, Freddie Freeman, Gavin Lux, and Chris Taylor.

As currently constructed, Bellinger is an underwater contract and as a player who was slightly above league average this past season and is set to make almost $30 million. If the Cubs were to trade Bellinger, they would have to eat a considerable amount of the contract to get anything worth a return.

Another reason fans argue for Bellinger’s reunion is his defense. During his time with the Dodgers, Bellinger was an above-average defender, whether at first base, right field, or center field, posting nineteen Outs Above Average from 2019 to 2020.

However, since then, it’s not been nearly the same amount of production. Since the 2021 season, Bellinger has been on a steep decline defensively, with a collective OAA of 12 from 2021-2024, including a career-low in 2024 ranking in the 62nd percentile with zero.

So, in short, Bellinger is now a league-average fielder and bat and is getting paid like an all-star. Not to mention that the Dodgers, even without adding an outfielder, have multiple options internally, such as Andy Pages, James Outman, Dalton Rushing, Mookie Betts (despite Brandon Gomes stating he’d likely be a full-time infielder), and utility players such as Tommy Edman and Chris Taylor.

Not to mention that the Dodgers will be aggressive in the free-agent market. They already met with top free agent Juan Soto this past week and would want a reunion with Teoscar Hernández.

And look, I’m not trying to be a Bellinger hater, in fact. I’m quite the opposite, as Bellinger has been one of my favorite players since he made his debut. If the Dodgers fail to land any of the names mentioned above, then I’ll gladly consider a reunion. But Bellinger’s name should be near last on the outfield totem pole for Los Angeles.

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