Why Cody Bellinger Would Work in Atlanta
Fresh off of my last article, which I started: “The Braves are the last team in baseball one would consider “needy”, but that doesn’t mean they can’t improve.”; and then continued on to explain why a specific reliever should be Atlanta’s #1 target at the Trade Deadline…I have another player in mind that could also take Atlanta to an even higher level.
If you haven’t guessed who that player is (it’s in the title), it’s Cody Bellinger.
Before you shrug this off as name-hunting or just throwing random names out that SHOULD be available, give it some thought, real actual thought.
Coming into this past offseason, Left Field was pegged as a question mark. The additions & re-signings did little to remove that question mark, if I’m being honest. I said as much in my article at the time. At the time I said something to the effect of: “Anthopoulos is approaching the Left Field question not with an answer, but with a gaggle of gambles & hoping one pays off”.
Well, the Left Field platoon is starting to show it’s warts…
Sam Hilliard - who I had high hopes for - is seeing little to no playing time since school let out for the summer.
Eli White is firmly in Gwinnett’s 2023 plans (currently in the 7-Day IL).
Kevin Pillar’s playing time is comparable to Hilliard’s, having only 103 at-bats this season, 23 ending in strikeouts.
Then we have Eddie Rosario, the far-&-away leader of the LF Corps. He recently was out on the shelf for hamstring tightness. Now I’m not saying the injury isn’t real, I’m just saying it just so happened to come the same night he put in two ABYSMAL defensive efforts in the outfield that allowed Chicago runs to score; indirectly costing Atlanta the game when all was said and done. Rosario on a good day is an enigma. Rosario on a less-than-stellar day that also has poor effort sprinkled in is unplayable.
Rosario’s 2023 salary is $9,000,000 & he becomes a free agent this offseason unless Atlanta exercises the team option to bring him back next year for the same $9,000,000.
Cody Bellinger is owed $12,000,000 for the entirety of 2023 & has a mutual option in his contract for 2024 with a $5,500,000 buyout.
We’re going to break this down step-by-step, starting with the contract.
Surface-level stuff, for an extra $3.5 million (which will be pro-rated) the Braves switch Cody Bellinger for Eddie Rosario to be the everyday left fielder.
Defensively, this comparison isn’t even close. Cody Bellinger DOG WALKS Eddie Rosario in the field, I don’t care how many closed-eyes catches at the wall Rosario has made in the World Series.
In fact, Cody Bellinger would be the 2nd-highest Atlanta Brave in Outs Above Average, ranking behind only Orlando Arcia.
As a team, the Braves are ranked 20th in baseball in Outs Above Average, actually scoring a -5 in runs prevented. If there’s one area to cast a wide net of improvement for the Braves, it’s on defense; outfield defense specifically. Outfield mistakes tend to result in more immediate consequences on the scoreboard, meaning an improvement as vast as Rosario-Bellinger would easily put Atlanta back in the OAA Green.
Offensively, Bellinger:
-ground into less double plays.
-advances more runners when runners are in scoring position.
-has 11 stolen bases to Eddie’s 1, with the same amount of caught stealing.
-has a 55% extra bases taken percentage compared to Eddie’s 38%.
-has a better strikeout:walk ratio as well as strikeout:at-bat ratio.
-has a 1.4 situational wins score compared to Eddie’s 0.2.
BUT, where Eddie smokes Bellinger is in every category that includes “clutch” in the equation.
**Stats were for the 2023 Regular Season ONLY**
There’s no doubt Bellinger would be open to and/or ecstatic about joining the Braves. He took this Cubs contract as a prove-it deal, him & his agent said so publicly. They said they took this short-term contract to hit the market in 2024 or 2025 with more value added in order to land the last large contract of Bellinger’s career. Playing in the postseason for THE World Series favorites is the best possible situation for a former MVP, Gold Glover, & Silver Slugger to prove to potential suitors that he’s worth making the cornerstone in their short-term outfield.
Plus, Belli has a knack for being a Braves-Killer in the postseason. So if nothing else, signing him keeps him from beating us.