Cody Bellinger rumors: Ranking 5 suitors as offseason slows to a crawl
Cody Bellinger had just about as good of a platform year as he could've hoped for. The 28-year-old bounced back in a big way following two horrendous seasons with the Dodgers and wound up finishing tenth in the NL MVP balloting while nearly leading the Chicago Cubs to an unlikely playoff berth.
Heading into this offseason, Bellinger was seen as one of the prized free agents out there. He was certainly the best outfielder available and was the best position player out there for teams to sign not named Shohei Ohtani. Despite that, Bellinger has received very little public interest and with pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training in just a matter of days, he remains without a new home.
Bellinger is one of multiple MLB stars seeking massive contracts and generating little interest because of those asks. With Scott Boras representing him, who knows if and when Bellinger's ask will come down? As the offseason continues to move at an unbearably slow pace, let's rank some teams that can still conceivably sign Bellinger when he eventually does make a decision to sign.
5) The Blue Jays don't make as much sense for Cody Bellinger as they once did
At one point this offseason, the Toronto Blue Jays made the most sense as a Cody Bellinger destination. They needed to add another outfielder, another left-handed bat, and more power to their lineup, Bellinger checked all of those boxes. After missing out on Ohtani, Bellinger to Toronto felt inevitable. Until it didn't.
The Jays chose to pass on Bellinger for one of their outfield spots and instead sign Kevin Kiermaier to a one-year deal worth $10.5 million. With Kiermaier back in Toronto, the Jays have a full outfield. Even with that being the case, Toronto could've made room for Bellinger with their DH spot open.
Putting one of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or George Springer at DH and playing Bellinger in right field or at first base made sense, but after signing Justin Turner, it makes less sense. Sure, Turner can play third base regularly in theory, but he's 39 years old and had just seven appearances at the hot corner last season. He's more of a DH now.
The Jays could still use Bellinger's bat, but the fit just doesn't make sense anymore. They did not give Kiermaier $10.5 million for him to be a fourth outfielder. With Turner also in the fold, it just feels extremely unlikely to happen.