REPORT: The Dodgers Will Non-Tender Cody Bellinger Tonight, Making Him a Free Agent

Weeks of speculating and wondering, and now we know for sure: Cody Bellinger will become a free agent.

Per Ken Rosenthal, the non-tender from the Dodgers is coming tonight:

At 27, but truly terrible at the plate the last two years in both results and in how he managed them, Cody Bellinger is going to be a really difficult-to-predict free agency. His exceptional defense in center field (and at first base) creates quite a floor, but if he can no longer offer even league-average offense, how much value is there? Ah, but what if you can FIX him? Some team is going to try.

… And that team should be the Chicago Cubs, who can use that glove in center field, could use a chance at lefty power, have outfield prospects on the way in the long-term so prefer a shorter deal, and can promise Bellinger plenty of runway to break back out. Bellinger figures to be looking for a one-year pillow contract to try to set himself back up for a bigger payday, and he’ll probably start by looking for a deal close to what he would’ve gotten from the Dodgers. I would say $18 million seems really high for a chance at a bounce-back, but at least $10 million should be easy. Probably closer to $15 million.

Reportedly, the Cubs will pursue Bellinger after the non-tender. Realistically, neither Brennen Davis nor Alexander Canario will be able to take over in center field early in the season no matter what (and Pete Crow-Armstrong could be at least a year away), so landing Bellinger feels like a perfect bridge opportunity for the Cubs, even if you’re all about the prospects.

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Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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