According to a report by The Athletic, a source said that the Los Angeles Dodgers will not tender a contract to Bellinger, who was an All-Star in each of the last two years.
It would have been Bellinger's final season before free agency if he had made $18 million. He's going to enter the free agent market a year early, though the Dodgers could always negotiate a lower contract.
The Dodgers are in need of a center fielder because of their recent success. Bellinger continued to provide Gold Glove-caliber defense at that position, in addition to plus speed on the bases, but his struggles at the plate became too much to digest. There was a Friday deadline for teams to decide if they would tender a contract to their eligible players.
Bellinger was named the National League's Most Valuable Player after a season in which he slashed.305/.406/.629 with 47 home runs, 115 RBIs and 15 stolen bases while being worth 7.7 Fan Graphs wins above replacement. He has slashed.203/.272/.368 over the course of 295 regular-season games. He had a.648 OPS from 2020 to 2022.
Bellinger returned to the Dodgers in the summer of 2020 with an altered batting stance that he struggled with throughout the shortened season after winning the NL batting title. He had shoulder surgery after he injured his shoulder during a home run celebration.
Recovering from that injury was seen as part of the reason for his struggles in the next year. Bellinger batting.210 with 19 home runs in 146 games for the Dodgers team that set a franchise record with 112 victories. Before the team was eliminated by the San Diego Padres in the division series, Bellinger sat on the bench with an opposing pitcher in the fourth game.
He might have been the last one to wear a Dodgers uniform.
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