Dodgers News: Cody Bellinger Agrees to Small Raise, Avoiding Arbitration Before Lockout
It’s been eerily quiet leading up to the holidays thanks to the MLB Lockout. In years past, it wasn’t out of the ordinary to have a few trades pulled off or some free agency singings around the league. However, fans won’t be getting any presents this Christmas from their favorite teams. Instead, MLB has left us all feeling like we made the naughty list with a bag of coal.
Any moves made by the Dodgers will have to wait until after the lockout finally ends, which seems still a ways away. However, the radio silence was broken this morning as news of an agreed-upon contract was revealed just before the lockout.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Dodgers and outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger were able will avoid arbitration, once the league opens back up after the two sides agreed to a one-year $17 million contract for the 2022 season. That is if there is one. The deal wasn’t reported before as teams have not been referencing their player by name during the lockout.
Some pre-Christmas housekeeping: OF/1B Cody Bellinger and the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed on a one-year, $17 million contract to avoid arbitration before the lockout, sources tell me and @kileymcd. Deal is long done. Just wasn't reported yet. News at ESPN: https://t.co/NsMzj6szyr
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 23, 2021
Bellinger, who is still under team control until after the 2024 season, endured his worst year as a big leaguer. He finished 2021 with a .165/.240/.302 statline with 10 home runs and 36 RBI in 95 games. Part of his troubles can be attributed to coming off of shoulder surgery as well as missing a chunk of the season due to injuries. Still, he just didn’t look the same at the plate, and nowhere close to the 2019 MVP version of himself or even any version of himself for that matter.
Still, the Dodgers gave him a raise of about $900,000 to keep him on the roster for the upcoming season or they would have to non-tender him, making him a free agent. While Bellinger was a disappointment in the regular season, he came to in the postseason to be one of the Dodgers’ biggest bats. Hopefully, he can use that momentum to turn things around, but is he still capable of it?
Cody Bellinger Signs New Contract With Dodgers Before Lockout, Why LA Gave Belli a Raise!
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I understand why this was done, but he wasn’t going anywhere and I don’t believe arbitration would have given him a raise based on his performance. If arbitration gave him equal or the extra $100,000 to make it one million, fine, If the arbitration number was extreme, then the Dodgers would be justified in letting another team pay for his inability to be coached up as to his plate approach. And no, his couple of hits in the playoffs, regardless of coming at a good time does not offset the year and a half of bad plate appearances or the many times a clutch hit was needed and we got a whiff instead.
He’s a sensitive millionaire. He would have got his feelings hurt, and been even harder to coach.
He will be gone once he is a free agent since Scott Boras is his agent.
In this case, I’m glad Boras is his agent, but doesn’t matter until after ‘24. What a country. Hits a robust .162 and gets a raise. Mendoza yesterday’s news. Now it’s the Bellinger line. He’s been awful since second half of ‘19, but will probably be batting 4th in Delusional Dave’s lineup.
Spot on!!! But it’s not reality in any other MLB line up Bobbyd. Any other MLB manager would have sent him to Camel back to get AB’s and work on the swing so as to not damage the strength of the Line up. But we’re talking Barney fife here where leaving more runners stranded than your BA get’s you a Clean up spot in the line up. How many games did we lose by?
Gotta look at the overall picture with Belli. Gold glove, elite speed, throws frozen ropes, and up until his injury hit for average and power. Basically a FIVE tool guy. Obviously his injury derailed his comeback at the plate. And if you’ve never been in the box, know it is about as hard as it gets in any sport trying to hit a round object with another coming at various speeds reaching 100 mph, especially when your body isn’t right. This is why we have spring training, to get it dialed in. Unfortunately, the comeback was during the season which made it a hell of a lot tougher. In the end Belli found it and was key in the playoffs. I expect him to pick up where he left off, no reason not too.
If the Dodgers had offered him a pay cut in arbitration, what are the chances that the arbitrator would have chosen the Dodgers number after Belly’s disastrous 2021 season? I would tend to think pretty good.
A small raise, are you kidding me. If you were that bad on an assembly you would be looking for a new job. This is why I don’t attend games anymore. I give to the needy than the greedy.
Good reasoning Hokey. I’m boycotting going to Chavez, and also the MLB package until they get a different manager….
I hope we get to play this season. I am betting that Cody turns things around. This kid is too good to just throw away.
A raise for What? Mendoza geta a raise? .What a discussing joke!!! NOT FUNNY!!!