It turns out Cody Bellinger and the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a new contract right before the Dec. 1 lockout. However, the deal wasn’t reported until this Thursday.
According to ESPN insider Jeff Passan, it’s a one-year deal for Bellinger that is worth $17 million. This contract allows him to avoid arbitration.
The reason Bellinger’s new deal wasn’t announced after the lockout went into effect is because MLB teams stopped referencing players by their name during the work stoppage.
Bellinger has been an impact player for the majority of his career with the Dodgers. That being said, he’s coming off the worst season of his MLB career.
During the 2021 season, Bellinger had a .165 batting average with 10 home runs and 36 RBI.
While there are plenty of Dodgers fans who are happy Bellinger will remain in Los Angeles, there are also some MLB fans who don’t understand this new deal.
Sheesh. $17 million for a dude that hit .165 last year #BattingAverageStillMatters https://t.co/PKkz5MSGEU
— Liam Griffin (@RealLiamGriffin) December 23, 2021
$100K per batting average point. https://t.co/GIHUHEnkMN
— Baseball GIFs (@gifs_baseball) December 23, 2021
17 mil and I had a higher war than belli https://t.co/n2CqPdIkd4 pic.twitter.com/8KMIomqQZI
— Devean⚡ (@PrimeTimeHerb) December 23, 2021
Yessir https://t.co/8bLrXx83wl pic.twitter.com/JnKqW8PkX5
— • (@CODYBELLlNGER) December 23, 2021
The hope for the Dodgers is that Bellinger can return to his MVP form. In 2019, he had a .305 batting average with 47 home runs and 115 RBI.
Even though Bellinger struggled in 2021, he did have 12 hits in the postseason. Perhaps that momentum will carry over to the 2022 season.
When Bellinger is playing at an elite level, the Dodgers are arguably the best team in the National League.
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