MLB Rumors: 3 best Cody Bellinger destinations after Ohtani deal
With Shohei Ohtani officially off the board, Cody Bellinger is now the most expensive position player on the market. We haven't seen his name pop up in many rumors, but with Ohtani and even Juan Soto off the board, the teams that missed out on both of those players will now be crawling over to Bellinger prepared to give him a large amount of money.
Bellinger was coming off three consecutive down seasons with the Dodgers before exploding in his one season with the Chicago Cubs. The 28-year-old finished 10th in the NL MVP balloting and took home a Silver Slugger after his great year in Chicago.
With Ohtani officially off the board, these teams make the most sense for Cody Bellinger.
3) Toronto Blue Jays
Poor Blue Jays fans. It really felt like Shohei Ohtani was destined to sign north of the border before Ohtani himself ruined their hopes with one simple Instagram post. The only way for the Jays to recover from that heartbreak would be by spending money on other star players. No, Bellinger is not Ohtani, but he'd be a nice fit in Toronto.
Last offseason the Blue Jays emphasized defense, particularly in the outfield. They moved George Springer to right field, added Kevin Kiermaier to play center field, and traded for Daulton Varsho to play left. Those moves resulted in the best defensive outfield in the game, but the Jays also saw their offense take a big step back. Toronto was consistently towards the top of the majors in runs scored, but this past season they ranked tied for 14th. Not good enough.
Bellinger is the rare player that doesn't take much if anything away from Kiermaier defensively, but provides a major offensive boost. Sure, Kiermaier had a surprisingly decent year with the bat, but Bellinger is the kind of player Toronto can plug in between Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and really scare teams.
The Jays would love his glove, and his bat, when right, is a game-changer. It's a bit of a risk considering Bellinger's ineffectiveness from 2020-2022, but it's one Ross Atkins has to take after failing to land Shohei Ohtani.