Cody Bellinger wasn't Tendered a Contract by the Los Angeles Dodgers

Cody Bellinger wasn’t tendered a contract by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

The Dodgers plan to non-tender outfielder Cody Bellinger, making him a free agent, source tells @TheAthletic. Team could still re-sign him for less than his projected arbitration salary in the $18M range.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 18, 2022

It was rumored all day Friday that the Dodgers would either non-tender Bellinger or trade him. This move makes sense as the price tag on a new contract for Bellinger would’ve come in at somewhere around $18 million. Bellinger just isn’t worth that price tag anymore. In his MVP season (2019), the slugging center fielder had 47 HRs and 115 RBIs with an OPS of 1.035. In the three seasons since, he has a combined 41 HRs and 124 RBIs with consecutive OPS of .572, .405, and .475.

The fact that the Dodgers didn’t tender a contract to Bellinger by Friday’s deadline doesn’t mean they can’t sign him. That likely depends on whether or not Bellinger can find a better deal elsewhere.

The Dodgers, at +550, are the favorites to win the World Series next season. You can find the odds for every MLB team to win the championship on the FanDuel Sportsbook.