The Los Angeles Dodgers decided to non-tender Cody Bellinger on Friday. LA is now in the process of looking for a Bellinger replacement in centerfield. However, Dodgers' President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman commented on LA's decision to move on from Bellinger, per The Orange County Register.

“Obviously it’s been a unique path for Cody as he’s battled through injuries and worked diligently over the past few years to return to his All-Star-caliber performance,” Friedman said. “However, 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.”

Cody Bellinger was the NL MVP just a few years ago. But his downfall has been swift and well-documented around the MLB world since 2020. There are still people around the league that think Bellinger is capable of turning his career around. Friedman mentioned that the Dodgers still do believe in Bellinger's all-around talent.

“We still really believe in the talent of Cody and feel like he is as committed as ever to figure it out. That coupled with the talent that we have in our weight room, on our coaching staff, we feel like we, collectively with him, could figure it out. But again, I felt that way coming into ’22.”

The Dodgers could re-sign Cody Bellinger in free agency. But the 27-year old outfielder will likely receive interest elsewhere based on upside alone. Bellinger will attempt to re-find his MVP form in 2023, while Los Angeles shifts the focus to building a World Series contending roster.