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Dodgers non-tender former NL MVP Bellinger

John W. McDonough / Sports Illustrated / Getty

The Los Angeles Dodgers non-tendered outfielder Cody Bellinger, the team announced on Friday.

Bellinger becomes a free agent after being non-tendered. The longtime Dodgers outfielder was projected to earn $18.1 million through arbitration if he was tendered a contract.

"It hasn't played out as we all would have hoped or expected, and therefore, we had to make a difficult decision of non-tendering," Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said, according to MLB.com's Juan Toribio.

"We have interest in a reunion, and we'll continue talks with Cody and his group as he goes through this process," Friedman continued.

The 27-year-old exploded onto the scene in 2017, appearing in the All-Star Game before winning NL Rookie of the Year and finishing ninth in NL MVP voting.

Bellinger then solidified himself as one of baseball's top players during the 2018 and 2019 campaigns, winning NL MVP in his third big-league season thanks to an impressive .305/.406/.629 slash line with 47 home runs, 34 doubles, and 115 RBIs.

The Arizona native hasn't been the same since, hitting .203/.272/.306 with 41 home runs and 134 RBIs in 295 games while battling a plethora of injuries to his shoulder, lat, and lower half.

Bellinger famously dislocated his shoulder celebrating a playoff home run in 2020. He underwent shoulder surgery following that season.

Bellinger remains an above-average defender despite his offensive decline. The one-time Gold Glover has amassed 34 defensive runs saved in the outfield throughout his career. He also has experience playing first base.

The Dodgers are expressing interest in free-agent center fielder Kevin Kiermaier with Bellinger out of the picture, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

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