Cody Bellinger has enjoyed somewhat of a career revitalization in Chicago this season. Before being placed on the injured list with a left knee contusion, Bellinger was slashing .271/.337/.493 with seven home runs, nine doubles and 20 RBIs.
At one point, Bellinger seemed all the way back at the plate. However, he cooled down in May, before ultimately being placed on the IL after making an incredible catch in center field.
Still, Bellinger has looked better this year than he did at any point over the last three seasons with the Dodgers. That’s why, it was no surprise when the team non-tendered him this offseason.
Despite the non-tender, there were no hard feelings between the two sides. The Dodgers felt that Bellinger needed a change of scenery, and I’m sure he agreed.
Last week, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman joined the MLB Network for an interview, where he was asked about Bellinger’s turnaround this season.
He made it clear that the Dodgers tried everything they could, and that Bellinger likely just needed to be somewhere else to figure things out again.
“Sometimes the change of scenery thing is real,” Friedman said. “Our hitting coaches are really good. And Cody really cares about being good. So I don’t think [his fall off in LA] is something where you can point a finger at either side, it was just where the success that our hitting guys and Cody had together, the subsequent things that happened and trying to get it back on track just wasn’t working here.”
Despite a lot of roster turnover from last season, the @Dodgers hold the NL’s best record through a quarter of the 2023 campaign.
President of Baseball Ops Andrew Friedman recaps some offseason decisions, mixing young talent with experienced vets and more! #MLBNow pic.twitter.com/d3jNtXruxH
— MLB Now (@MLBNow) May 17, 2023
Despite Cody not being in LA any longer, Friedman is still rooting for him to succeed.
“He is a guy that is really easy to root for,” Friedman said. “He’s got a lot of friends in our clubhouse, in our front office. We’re a big fan of Cody and we hope he continues to perform the way he is and excited for him but this year, I’m not sure it would have happened here… but it’s a difficult question to answer — we’ll never really know. But it’s been fun watching the success he’s had.”
Bellinger gave so much to the organization, and was one of the best young players they’ve ever had. In his first four years in Los Angeles, he won a Rookie of the Year Award, an MVP Award and a World Series championship.
The fall off was definitely tough to see, but Bellinger will forever be remembered as a fan-favorite in Los Angeles, and it’s great to see him getting his career back on track this season. At just 27 years old, he should still have a lot left in the tank.
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