Former Dodger Cody Bellinger Listed as One of MLB's Top Trade Deadline Targets This Year
All that talk about a change of scenery doing Cody Bellinger good seems to have been proven out. After being non-tendered last November, the former Dodger center fielder is in the midst of a great bounce back campaign and a likely frontrunner for the NL Comeback Player of the Year award in 2023. But he's doing all of his damage for the Chicago Cubs and, well, they're just not a very good team.
Entering play on Saturday, the Cubs are 42-48 and in third place in the NL Central, sitting 7 games behind the Reds and Brewers. They're even further out of a Wild Card spot in the National League, sitting 7.5 games behind the Giants for the final spot.
For the last few years, Chicago has been undergoing a rebuild signaled by the trades of All-Stars Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez. This offseason, they signed Bellinger hoping for a rebound, and they struck gold with that. Now the club needs to determine whether they're holding on to Belli for the next contending team, or trading him now and getting everything they can from a team in the hunt for title this season.
MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand believes the Cubs are likely leaning sell on Cody.
Bellinger was red-hot during the final two weeks of the first half, posting a 1.114 OPS and a .449/.482/.633 slash line in 13 games. Playing on a one-year, $12.5 million contract with a $25 million mutual option for 2024 ($5 million buyout), Bellinger seems like a lock to hit the free-agent market, making him a prime trade candidate if the Cubs decide to sell.
Feinsand sees fits with the Cleveland Guardians, New York Yankees, and (painfully) the San Francisco Giants in potential deadline deals.
On the year, the former MVP is hitting .304 -- his highest batting average since 2019 -- with 12 home runs and 35 runs batted in. His .892 OPS is the third-best mark of his career (behind only his MVP and Rookie of the Year seasons).
Belli is back. And he comes with more postseason experience than just about anyone potentially on the trade market this summer. A reunion in Dodger blue would be fun. But the Dodger front office seems set to run with rookie James Outman out in center field for the rest of the season.
Don't be surprised to see the San Diego Padres in the mix for the former World Series champ.
