Los Angeles Dodgers rumors about a possible replacement for Cody Bellinger have already surfaced with the team targeting the three-time Gold Glove winner.
Prior to the non-bid deadline, the majority of Los Angeles Dodgers rumors focused on future quarterback Cody Bellinger. As reported by FanSided’s Robert Murray, the team plans not to bid him.
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightingale, there were already some early Dodgers rumors about who could replace him on the field. Three-time Gold Glove Award winner Kevin Kiermayer has caught their eye and is likely going to Hollywood.
Kiermayer became a free agent earlier this month when the Tampa Bay Rays opted out of his 2023 draft pick. He has a reputation for playing great defense but also for wasting a lot of time. Will these rumors prove true and will the Dodgers replace Kiermayer, the program’s former MVP, with Bellinger?
Dodgers rumour: Kevin Kiermayer is an early candidate to replace Cody Bellinger
Bellinger became a casualty on the Dodgers roster due to his poor offensive performance. A move from him to Kiermaier won’t do much to improve the squad. He is a lifetime .248/.308/.407 hitter. Bellinger, a 6-year-old, leaves with lifetime numbers that include a .248/.332/.487 slash.
It’s what Bellinger has done for the past two years that gets him out of Los Angeles. After being named the 2019 National League Player of the Year, he took a step back in 2020. The abbreviated campaign had an internal excuse for many players. Unfortunately, it has been worse in the past two years. Bellinger gave the Dodgers a .193/.256/.355 performance in his last 900 plate appearance. That comes together in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
These Dodgers rumors may be funny given the upside Bellinger still has and it appears that Kiermeyer’s well-known decline continues. Kiermaier is a center field replacement. It is far from upgradable.
As The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal points out, this may not be the end of Bellinger’s time with the Dodgers. The expected arbitration figure for him would have been around $18 million. It is still possible to re-sign with the ball club as a free agent.
Even then, we should expect Kiermaier to be an affordable outfielder for the Dodgers. They could simply view Bellinger as someone who needed a change of scenery. They know him better than anyone else.
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