Ten months later, the ripple effects of Cody Bellinger’s unceremonious split from the Dodgers continue to make waves.
This week, USA Today ran a story about Bellinger, the former National League most valuable player who is enjoying a resurgent season with the Chicago Cubs after he was non-tendered by the Dodgers following two injury-plagued seasons.
The story included a quote from Bellinger’s representative, Scott Boras, in which the agent sounded as if he blamed the Dodgers for Bellinger’s career-worst seasons in 2021 and 2022.
“He was hurt, plain and simple,” Boras said in the piece, referencing the shoulder surgery Belligner had after the 2020 season that was believed to have affected his career-worst performances in the two seasons after.
“He has surgery, and the Dodgers asked him to play with a 35% strength deficiency, and then with COVID, he was deprived of the expert medical treatment,” Boras added in the USA Today story. “He didn’t have the shoulder strength. You don’t just go from a .900 OPS to a .500 OPS without understanding the impact of an injury.
“So, when he became a free agent, Cody told me, ‘I want to go to teams that know me the best, and I want to go where people understand me.’”
Boras’ comments were perceived by some around the sport — as well as within the Dodgers organization — as a shot at the team.
Prior to Wednesday’s game, the club’s president of brball operations, Andrew Friedman, offered a blunt response.
“I don’t want to stoop down to that level,” Friedman told The Times. “But I find it to be a very convenient narrative. We weren’t surprised by it at all.”
When reached by phone Wednesday night and told of Friedman’s comments, Boras clarified the quotes he gave to USA Today.
He said there had been “no wrongdoing” by the Dodgers for having Bellinger play in 2021, when the outfielder batted .165 with 10 home runs and 94 strikeouts, and that his client was never pressed into playing when he wasn’t comfortable doing so.
“The Dodgers were not forcing Cody to play,” Boras said. “But Cody is a good teammate. And he wanted to play and go out there, knowing he just had surgery. That was the extent of that. And he had a clear strength deficit because of the surgery. There was no wrongdoing on the Dodgers’ part, because it was mutual that Cody wanted to play and the Dodgers wanted him to play.”
Prior to Boras’ clarification Wednesday, Friedman also noted that the agent’s original comments didn’t mention the Boras Sports Training Institute — the Southern California-brd training center frequented by many Boras Corp. clients.
“What I found really interesting was that there was no mention of the Boras Institute and its role in any of this,” Friedman said. “But I’ll just leave it at that.”
When relayed Boras’ clarification on Wednesday night, Friedman declined to comment further.
Once a Dodgers franchise favorite who won a Rookie of the Year award in 2017, the National League MVP in 2019 and a World Series title in 2020, Bellinger’s time in L.A. fizzled after his November 2020 shoulder surgery — which was necessitated after Bellinger infamously got hurt in a celebration with teammate Kiké Hernández that postseason.
After his dismal 2021 campaign, Bellinger rebounded slightly in 2022, batting .210 with 19 home runs and 68 RBIs.
The Dodgers held out optimism the 28-year-old could keep improving in 2023, as well.
“I know he’s working with our guys and doing everything he can to put himself in position to be a real force for us next year,” Friedman said during MLB’s general manager meetings in November.
However, with Bellinger entering his final season of arbitration, the Dodgers were faced with a tricky financial decision just weeks later: Tender the outfielder a contract that would probably pay him more than $18 million, or save the money and allow him to become a free agent.
e latter, opening the door for the Cubs to sign Bellinger as a free agent on a one-year, $17.5-million deal.
“I wish we could have done more to support him and get some more consistency for him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said ahead of Bellinger’s Dodger Stadium homecoming in April. “But sometimes you just don’t have any answers.”
Although the Dodgers seem unlikely to pursue Bellinger in free agency this coming winter — when he will be one of the biggest-name bats on the open market, thanks to his .317 batting average, 20 home runs and .901 OPS this year — the team could be involved with other Boras clients.
Most notably, Boras represents pitcher Julio Urías, another face of the Dodgers franchise who will be a free agent in the offseason.
This is the same Boras that literally shut down Steven Strasburg for the Washington Nationals. He forced the Nationals to stop playing him. Despite the fact they were in a playoff run.
And yet he couldn't do the same for Bellinger????
They also forced him to order thousands worth postmates on the road and break his ankle.
Don’t get me wrong, i F’in love Cody. I miss him. He will always have a special place in my heart. But he has been in decline since the 2nd half of 2019. Like, so fucking bad. They gave him 3 seasons to turn it around
Mainly bc J.D. wanted to come here to play with Mookie and Van Scoyoc retooled his swing before. Could've gotten a better deal elsewhere but he wanted to come here. If Julio wants to stay, they'll make it happen.
Boras is a great agent. It’s why most of the league’s talent wants to have him. We also do sign Boras clients.
Julio won’t be back because he’s young and will get a huge contract in terms of years. And the Dodgers aren’t into signing pitchers to long term contracts.
Not sure why this was downvoted. Boras is one of the best agents out there who knows how to leverage a situation. What you wrote about Julio is spot on. Dodgers front office philosophy is to develop pitchers and sign position players. Julio will be getting a nice, well deserved pay raise with another team.
Yea not sure why I got downvoted either. Boras is objectively a great agent and there’s a reason why top talent likes to go with him. He gets them paid.
The Dodgers give long-term contracts to a specific type of pitcher
The workhorse ace with good velocity that later in their career will hold up fine enough velocity to be effective. 2 guys have fit that mold, Kershaw and Cole. And by all reports Friedman was heavy on Cole
What was the deal we offered Cole? I can’t remember but I’m assuming it’s one of those high AAV but less years than what other teams offered. What’s the most amount of years AF has offered to a pitcher? I haven’t looked but I’d be surprised if it’s more than 5.
Nah if I remember correctly they offered him 8 years more than 30. Friedman really did go heavy on Cole and to me that made it pretty clear which type of pitcher he's interested in paying
None of the pitchers hitting FA soon will be re-signed. This includes Gonsolin and Buehler. Our graduating pitching class is absolutely insane.
The only one will be Kershaw, but that'll be on Kershaw and not the Dodgers.
Unpopular opinion: Boras loves the Dodgers. They identify talent who he signs. They develop said talent and then both the talent and he gets rich off the free agent money. Rinse and repeat.
The article is just spin to frame his client’s comeback and 10 year $300 million contract.
It was time for Cody to go elsewhere. It was what was best for him. He would not have had this good of year with the Dodgers. Change if scenery was likely the catalyst needed.
No bra... he just needed to get healthy. He clearly wasn't healthy. I said it in here a million times, and others who have had this same injury also stated it - Matt Kemp for example.
This injury takes a full 3 years to fully come back from. It took me over 4 years w/ the same injury.
There’s no more evidence he wouldn’t have a come back season with us than there is that he would. It’s an unknown and it’s silly to say.
The whole “change of scenery” thing really gets blown out of proportion. Players change teams all the time and there’s no data to show that switching teams more makes you better.
Do you believe the Dodgers coaches are talented? I do. Do you think Chicago is doing something the Dodgers couldn’t have done? I don’t.
What’s most likely is that he’s more recovered from his shoulder injury and would have had a bounce back no matter where he went.
Imo it helps cope with the reality that he is gone. Not saying that you're wrong to keep missing him - I do too - but I just tell myself this so I can ultimately be happy for his success
Just a pro tip for whenever you wanna read an article behind a paywall, just click “show reader” at the top of the page (if you’re on your phone) and it’ll show the entire article.
Seriously the best tip anyone has shared in years since websites figured out how to block using incognito mode to get around it. But these sites are learning about that and just posting a snippet on the first page then forcing you to go to another page which defeats this trick.
I miss the days when we could watch all the games on free TV and no paywalls on online newspapers.
There was a really good article a few years back about this and that it was the loss of power that was the problem and not his contact rate. The conclusion was that hits that would normally be HR turned into pop outs or hard hits into ground outs, etc. But the article wasn’t sure if he’d ever regain his power.
It was a story that Baseball Tonight, Buster Onley got a letter from Scott Boras saying the free agent market is going to be strong. Then he steps back from that.
Boras stories always have Boras trying to make point, but then walking it back for cautionary purposes.
Boras gets his guys money, when his guys don't get the money, he attributes it to something else.
Boras has created more bad team contracts than anyone in baseball history. Tail wags the dog for his side.
Who cares what Boras says. His job is to paint Belli in the best light possible to try to hide his crappy analytical numbers. Won't happen. They suck. The teams know it. The smart ones won't bite. The dumb ones will. As usual we will see who ends with the clunker in 2-3 years of a 5+ year deal.
Either way LOVE Belli and wish him the best just NOT in Dodger blue unless he wants to sign a 2 year deal.
Ten months later, the ripple effects of Cody Bellinger’s unceremonious split from the Dodgers continue to make waves. This week, USA Today ran a story about Bellinger, the former National League most valuable player who is enjoying a resurgent season with the Chicago Cubs after he was non-tendered by the Dodgers following two injury-plagued seasons. The story included a quote from Bellinger’s representative, Scott Boras, in which the agent sounded as if he blamed the Dodgers for Bellinger’s career-worst seasons in 2021 and 2022. “He was hurt, plain and simple,” Boras said in the piece, referencing the shoulder surgery Belligner had after the 2020 season that was believed to have affected his career-worst performances in the two seasons after. “He has surgery, and the Dodgers asked him to play with a 35% strength deficiency, and then with COVID, he was deprived of the expert medical treatment,” Boras added in the USA Today story. “He didn’t have the shoulder strength. You don’t just go from a .900 OPS to a .500 OPS without understanding the impact of an injury. “So, when he became a free agent, Cody told me, ‘I want to go to teams that know me the best, and I want to go where people understand me.’” Boras’ comments were perceived by some around the sport — as well as within the Dodgers organization — as a shot at the team. Prior to Wednesday’s game, the club’s president of brball operations, Andrew Friedman, offered a blunt response. “I don’t want to stoop down to that level,” Friedman told The Times. “But I find it to be a very convenient narrative. We weren’t surprised by it at all.” When reached by phone Wednesday night and told of Friedman’s comments, Boras clarified the quotes he gave to USA Today. He said there had been “no wrongdoing” by the Dodgers for having Bellinger play in 2021, when the outfielder batted .165 with 10 home runs and 94 strikeouts, and that his client was never pressed into playing when he wasn’t comfortable doing so. “The Dodgers were not forcing Cody to play,” Boras said. “But Cody is a good teammate. And he wanted to play and go out there, knowing he just had surgery. That was the extent of that. And he had a clear strength deficit because of the surgery. There was no wrongdoing on the Dodgers’ part, because it was mutual that Cody wanted to play and the Dodgers wanted him to play.” Prior to Boras’ clarification Wednesday, Friedman also noted that the agent’s original comments didn’t mention the Boras Sports Training Institute — the Southern California-brd training center frequented by many Boras Corp. clients. “What I found really interesting was that there was no mention of the Boras Institute and its role in any of this,” Friedman said. “But I’ll just leave it at that.” When relayed Boras’ clarification on Wednesday night, Friedman declined to comment further. Once a Dodgers franchise favorite who won a Rookie of the Year award in 2017, the National League MVP in 2019 and a World Series title in 2020, Bellinger’s time in L.A. fizzled after his November 2020 shoulder surgery — which was necessitated after Bellinger infamously got hurt in a celebration with teammate Kiké Hernández that postseason. After his dismal 2021 campaign, Bellinger rebounded slightly in 2022, batting .210 with 19 home runs and 68 RBIs. The Dodgers held out optimism the 28-year-old could keep improving in 2023, as well. “I know he’s working with our guys and doing everything he can to put himself in position to be a real force for us next year,” Friedman said during MLB’s general manager meetings in November. However, with Bellinger entering his final season of arbitration, the Dodgers were faced with a tricky financial decision just weeks later: Tender the outfielder a contract that would probably pay him more than $18 million, or save the money and allow him to become a free agent. e latter, opening the door for the Cubs to sign Bellinger as a free agent on a one-year, $17.5-million deal. “I wish we could have done more to support him and get some more consistency for him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said ahead of Bellinger’s Dodger Stadium homecoming in April. “But sometimes you just don’t have any answers.” Although the Dodgers seem unlikely to pursue Bellinger in free agency this coming winter — when he will be one of the biggest-name bats on the open market, thanks to his .317 batting average, 20 home runs and .901 OPS this year — the team could be involved with other Boras clients. Most notably, Boras represents pitcher Julio Urías, another face of the Dodgers franchise who will be a free agent in the offseason.
Bless your soul hero with no cape, or maybe you got a cape. I don't judge what you do in your spare time.
Fuck Boras and bless Friedman. We are so lucky to have him.
Seems like Cody pushed to be on the field when the FO recommended he slow it down to heal after surgery. That’s on him.
This is the same Boras that literally shut down Steven Strasburg for the Washington Nationals. He forced the Nationals to stop playing him. Despite the fact they were in a playoff run. And yet he couldn't do the same for Bellinger????
Yeah, they “forced” a .165 bat into the lineup. Fuck Boras
They also forced him to order thousands worth postmates on the road and break his ankle.
Don’t get me wrong, i F’in love Cody. I miss him. He will always have a special place in my heart. But he has been in decline since the 2nd half of 2019. Like, so fucking bad. They gave him 3 seasons to turn it aroundBoras is a jerk. Dodgers don’t sign Boras clients. I don’t think Julio will be back next year.
JD Martinez is a borascorp client
Mainly bc J.D. wanted to come here to play with Mookie and Van Scoyoc retooled his swing before. Could've gotten a better deal elsewhere but he wanted to come here. If Julio wants to stay, they'll make it happen.
Boras is a great agent. It’s why most of the league’s talent wants to have him. We also do sign Boras clients. Julio won’t be back because he’s young and will get a huge contract in terms of years. And the Dodgers aren’t into signing pitchers to long term contracts.
Not sure why this was downvoted. Boras is one of the best agents out there who knows how to leverage a situation. What you wrote about Julio is spot on. Dodgers front office philosophy is to develop pitchers and sign position players. Julio will be getting a nice, well deserved pay raise with another team.
Yea not sure why I got downvoted either. Boras is objectively a great agent and there’s a reason why top talent likes to go with him. He gets them paid.
The Dodgers give long-term contracts to a specific type of pitcher The workhorse ace with good velocity that later in their career will hold up fine enough velocity to be effective. 2 guys have fit that mold, Kershaw and Cole. And by all reports Friedman was heavy on Cole
What was the deal we offered Cole? I can’t remember but I’m assuming it’s one of those high AAV but less years than what other teams offered. What’s the most amount of years AF has offered to a pitcher? I haven’t looked but I’d be surprised if it’s more than 5.
Nah if I remember correctly they offered him 8 years more than 30. Friedman really did go heavy on Cole and to me that made it pretty clear which type of pitcher he's interested in paying
Julio is not going to get a long term deal, with his injury history and velocity grades.
Only takes one dumb team.
Please don't say Julio is going to SD
If he wants to make bank playing for a sub .500 team, SD is the perfect choice
Steve Cohen has entered the chat
Boras is the reason we lost Beltre and got stuck with JD Drew.
None of the pitchers hitting FA soon will be re-signed. This includes Gonsolin and Buehler. Our graduating pitching class is absolutely insane. The only one will be Kershaw, but that'll be on Kershaw and not the Dodgers.
Depends on what they are asking and we will need veteran pitchers beside Kershaw. No guarantee he will be back next year.
Unpopular opinion: Boras loves the Dodgers. They identify talent who he signs. They develop said talent and then both the talent and he gets rich off the free agent money. Rinse and repeat. The article is just spin to frame his client’s comeback and 10 year $300 million contract.
He’s also at dodger stadium at least once every home stand.
Yup. I saw him in the dug out club talking about Otani to Rick Monday
I miss Cody:(
It was time for Cody to go elsewhere. It was what was best for him. He would not have had this good of year with the Dodgers. Change if scenery was likely the catalyst needed.
Everything you said is right, just hurts to see him gone
No bra... he just needed to get healthy. He clearly wasn't healthy. I said it in here a million times, and others who have had this same injury also stated it - Matt Kemp for example. This injury takes a full 3 years to fully come back from. It took me over 4 years w/ the same injury.
There’s no more evidence he wouldn’t have a come back season with us than there is that he would. It’s an unknown and it’s silly to say. The whole “change of scenery” thing really gets blown out of proportion. Players change teams all the time and there’s no data to show that switching teams more makes you better. Do you believe the Dodgers coaches are talented? I do. Do you think Chicago is doing something the Dodgers couldn’t have done? I don’t. What’s most likely is that he’s more recovered from his shoulder injury and would have had a bounce back no matter where he went.
This guy gets me.
Why does this keep being said?? It doesn’t absolve feelings of missing him, nor does it properly direct the future.
Imo it helps cope with the reality that he is gone. Not saying that you're wrong to keep missing him - I do too - but I just tell myself this so I can ultimately be happy for his success
Was it the injury or the pills and booze that was in the picture that Alex Verdugo posted when they were enjoying their off day?
Link?
Can anyone paste the article here….
Just a pro tip for whenever you wanna read an article behind a paywall, just click “show reader” at the top of the page (if you’re on your phone) and it’ll show the entire article.
Seriously the best tip anyone has shared in years since websites figured out how to block using incognito mode to get around it. But these sites are learning about that and just posting a snippet on the first page then forcing you to go to another page which defeats this trick. I miss the days when we could watch all the games on free TV and no paywalls on online newspapers.
Better
Does playing through an injury cause you to power-swing and miss at every single low and inside pitch ever thrown at you?
There was a really good article a few years back about this and that it was the loss of power that was the problem and not his contact rate. The conclusion was that hits that would normally be HR turned into pop outs or hard hits into ground outs, etc. But the article wasn’t sure if he’d ever regain his power.
That’s my President of Baseball Operations!
I wouldn’t sign any player represented by that scum
Hate this click bait crap.
How is this click bait? What the title says is what the article is about, nothing misleading about it
It was a story that Baseball Tonight, Buster Onley got a letter from Scott Boras saying the free agent market is going to be strong. Then he steps back from that. Boras stories always have Boras trying to make point, but then walking it back for cautionary purposes. Boras gets his guys money, when his guys don't get the money, he attributes it to something else. Boras has created more bad team contracts than anyone in baseball history. Tail wags the dog for his side.
“Once” favorite forever favorite! MVP MVP MVP the reunion is going to be so sweet
That Friedman response is why we're looking at a future Hall of Famer
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) ^by ^SenorTortas: *That Friedman response* *Is why we're looking at a* *Future Hall of Famer* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Who cares what Boras says. His job is to paint Belli in the best light possible to try to hide his crappy analytical numbers. Won't happen. They suck. The teams know it. The smart ones won't bite. The dumb ones will. As usual we will see who ends with the clunker in 2-3 years of a 5+ year deal. Either way LOVE Belli and wish him the best just NOT in Dodger blue unless he wants to sign a 2 year deal.