Dodgers: Scott Boras Defends Cody Bellinger’s Down Year
If you perused the internet searching for articles published on the struggles of Dodgers slugger Cody Bellinger this year, you might have enough to make up a small library. The former NL MVP battled through injuries and slumps throughout the 2021 season, ultimately posting one of the worst offensive campaigns in baseball.
You likely know the numbers (95 games .165 average, 10 home runs, and just 36 runs batted in). And you definitely know about the resurgence he had in the postseason following a swing change.
On Wednesday, MLB super agent, Scott Boras, spoke about Bellinger’s struggles and credited him for battling through and making himself available to the Dodgers. Bill Plunkett was among those to report.
Scott Boras on Cody Bellinger year: “He was injured. To Cody’s credit, he tried to play and the #Dodgers played him because he is a Gold Glove caliber player at two positions.”
Will be back to full strength in spring. “Learned a great deal about himself” last year— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) November 10, 2021
Bellinger was coming off of offseason shoulder surgery heading into spring training. He appeared in all of 10 games in spring training before the start of the season. He was quickly sidelined with a fractured leg that cost him nearly two months. Then there was a hamstring injury. By the time he finally got right physically, everything else swing-wise was all out of sorts.
So Boras’s assertion that Bellinger learned a lot about himself, by all accounts, seems extremely fair. Cody’s longest stretch of playing healthy saw him play 73 games without hitting the injured list. Over that stretch, he triple slashed just .142/.214/.283. It was enough to have the former rookie of the year and NL most valuable player search for answers and consider that swing change.
Will a full, normal offseason, the hope is that a version of Cody Bellinger that is closer to his MVP form over the iteration we saw last season will show up in 2022.
NEXT: Andrew Friedman Doesn’t Rule Out Dave Roberts Extension Before Next Season
Boras is laying the ground work for a huge contract ask.
No question.
Need to take 98.9% of what Boras says with a grain of salt. Even if he is right. Not sure how much of a commission he gets; but my guess is he is worth North of 100 million. He is stirring the pot a bit for future considerations.
His commission is probably 10%. May not sound like a lot to some initially, but take 10% of all the contracts his clients have signed and it becomes a huge sum.
MLB caps agent commission at 5%. Thats what Boras charges. Just in 2018, that 5% produced over 100M for him.
Thanks, wasn’t sure what the exact number was.
Why is everyone forgetting how bad Cody was in 2020?? This was not just this season. His type of swing is not gonna work in the MLB. You can park a Ferrari in the middle of his swing!!
2020 wasn’t a “bad” year for Cody at all. He was still 4th on the team in RBI with 30 and an ops+ of 115 with 12 HR and 10 2B (4th and 2nd, respectively). Anyone who thinks that’s a “bad year” for a 60 game season that didn’t start until July has issues.
Nobody is worth what that man asks for the owners need to boycot anyone represented by him.He needs to go away he is bad for naseball.
Personally I can’t stand Boras, but he is just doing his job. He is an agent and it’s his responsibility to secure the best contract he can for his client.
One more thing many the Dodgers should try to trade Cody they need pitching more than anything.
A Gold mine is a hole in the ground with a liar standing next to it.
A baseball agent is a liar standing next to a baseball player telling you next year is going to be a MVP year.
sure hope Cody’s comeback continues into 2022. He’s so fun to watch hit when he’s “on”
Weeeeeeeeeee!
You pose a tough question. Go back to Mark’s comment, Cody has put 2 bad years up in a row. His trade value right now is not exactly very promising. Personally I really like Cody, but putting up a good to very good or exceptional season every 3 years or so may not be worth the headache a prolonged contract issue would bring. I do think that injuries played a big part in this past season’s struggles and he did have a nice postseason, but. If there is a 2022 season, Cody’s results will be a large factor on whether he should be traded or not.
With Scott Boras as his agent, that means that he will probably sign elsewhere once he becomes a free agent.
Any team signing Bellinger for ten years deserves what they get. It won’t be a positive one.
Greedy bastard Boras is a snake oil salesman.
I fully supported and support Cody for everything he had to endure, including barbs from fairweather “fans”. I cited Jerry Hairston Jr., previously, that it takes up to a year to recover from the type of shoulder surgery Cody had last off-season. The pundits in the MLB media giving him things like “Least Valuable Player” have no clue because they never played on any appreciable level. I know Cody will be 100% in spring, assuming there is one.
Snot Borass…..sat on his yacht and watched a guy almost drown right next to him and did nothing. Snot Borass makes a good 20% off of every deal made. At least! Think about it. Sure..it’s his right. But to get young and dumb ballplayers to leave a team that raised them, stuck with them when they were on the IL list for months at a time, to literally give them everything that they needed to succeed…and then watch them get greedy at the end…..as if there is a huge difference in getting $290 million for 10 years over getting $300 million for 12 years. I’m glad that I won’t be around when they choose to retire at 35 or decide to milk it like ‘dead arm’ Scherzer for a few more.
A good start would be to lay off the heroin
Or at least take her Panties off his head while swinging!!!
Bellinger despite his absolutely horrid hitting refused to change his swing! When he finally pulled his head out and change his insane swing for the hills in case I hit it swing and started situational hitting he was more successful.
Will he continue to follow up on his swing and sitting strategy or will he go back to singing from his heels no matter what?
No one knows but Bellinger.
Love your comment Kirk D Lyons. I thought the same thing whenever he pulled off that batting helmet. LOL!
Regardless of the trades or players that remain it won’t make a difference as long as Roberts stays. He has to be replaced now. His management has cost the Dodgers at lest two World Series.
Someone needs to start a petition to fire this dumb ass.
Tmaxster is correct. When Bellinger stopped being stubborn and changed his swing, he hit .353 batting and .900 OPS [post season 12 games, small sample, but against good pitching, every at bat a crucial one]. Let us hope that in 2022 he performs midway between his 2021 regular-season numbers [.165 batting average, .542 OPS] and his 2021 post-season numbers [midway being .260 batting average, .721 OPS]. With his gold glove defense and stealing bases, he would be worth starting. Of course, if he returns to his career averages [OPS .857] that would be better. And if this is going to be a contract year [2022] then a return to something closer to his MVP averages [batting .305, OPS 1.035, 47 HRs], if not actually getting there, might not be out of the realm of possibility, but that is too much to hope for
I don’t like Boras, I don’t think he’s good for baseball, but he and his company, it’s a lot more than just him, are good at what they do, getting the maximum contract for his clients. Sure he’s probably leveraging towards the future, on the other hand it doesn’t mean he’s wrong either. I might go so far as to not negotiate with him at all if I was a upper level baseball exec. But he’s good at what he does.
Cody. I’m hoping for a return to form, optimistic even. But I don’t expect a .300 hitter, I’m more looking for a .260 hitter with scary HR power, lots of RBIs and a great glove. Especially in today’s game, that’s not a bad combo.
Good at what he does. So was Don King which is why boxing is among the things that were.