Four seasons in the past Cody Bellinger reached the peak of private accolades as among the finest younger gamers in Major League Baseball. He amassed a number of awards — National League MVP, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove — to validate his all-around efficiency for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Injuries and inconsistency prevented Bellinger from recapturing that degree of excellence — and even being a league-average hitter — the final two years. The Dodgers non-tendered him in November at age 27, initially a troublesome second.
Bellinger’s one-year cope with the Chicago Cubs, together with a mutual possibility for 2024, presents a brand new path ahead.
“I don’t have any hard feelings. I get it,” Bellinger stated Tuesday on a Zoom name with reporters. “I took it as a new opportunity or just another page, you know? So I’m excited that I get to be able to do this at Wrigley Field in a Cubs jersey and understand how special it is to play for both organizations.”
Bellinger dislocated his proper shoulder throughout the 2020 NL Championship Series and missed almost two months early within the 2021 season due to a hairline fracture in his left fibula. He believes his accidents had been concerned in his regression as a result of they altered his physique from shifting the way it sometimes did.
Bellinger’s focus is extra on the longer term and making ready for 2023 than dissecting the affect of his accidents.
“At the end of it all, I’m going to look back and be appreciative that it happened and be able to learn from it,” Bellinger stated. “I think it’s going to be better for the longevity of my career.”
The Cubs wouldn’t have signed Bellinger in the event that they didn’t consider they might assist get him again on observe. That requires belief from each side. There already has been open dialogue between Bellinger and the Cubs hitting workers, guaranteeing they’re on the identical web page for find out how to method the state of affairs and their respective visions.
Familiarity is essential too. Bellinger has been shut with Cubs assistant hitting coach Johnny Washington since his work within the Dodgers minor-league system coincided with the early years of Bellinger’s skilled profession.
Bellinger echoed right-hander Jameson Taillon’s feedback from Monday, appreciating how the Cubs confirmed quite a lot of curiosity in him from the onset of free company and remained in regular contact. Bellinger and his agent, Scott Boras, sought a one-year deal, choosing a prove-it season moderately than accepting a multiyear contract elsewhere.
Bellinger additionally offers supervisor David Ross versatility. He is assured in middle area or at first base, the place he performed by highschool and his minor-league profession, which presents choices in find out how to optimize the lineup.
“Where I’m at right now and how I feel mentally, physically, I’m in a pretty good spot,” Bellinger stated. “It simply makes me excited to start out understanding with the workers and speaking by issues, no matter we have to discuss by, to get going.
“It’s definitely a big year. I feel really good and I’m excited for it.”
For this partnership to succeed in its full potential, the left-handed hitting Bellinger should make some swing changes from the place he has been the final two seasons. He posted a .193/.256/.355 slash line and 64 OPS+ in 900 plate appearances in that span.
Bellinger didn’t wish to delve an excessive amount of into what he’s engaged on together with his swing mechanics, however he defined he acquired away from what he needs to do with the decrease half of his physique.
“Getting stronger in those aspects of my body and translating that into the cage and just let my body move how it should again,” he stated.
MLB’s rule change for defensive shifts ought to assist Bellinger. In 2022, groups carried out a shift with three gamers on the suitable aspect of the infield for 90.5% of his 550 plate appearances. Only 16 gamers, all additionally left-handed hitters, confronted a better charge of shifted defenses; the MLB common for lefties was 55%.
Bellinger recorded a .283 weighted on-base common (wOBA) versus the shift and a .302 wOBA in his 52 non-shifted plate appearances.
“That’s definitely exciting,” Bellinger stated. “I talked to some guys that had been within the minor leagues, they usually talked in regards to the pitch clock and the shift and everybody says it takes just a little bit to get used to, however total everyone seems to be a giant fan of it.
“I don’t know exactly how the infields are going to look now. I know that’s probably what we’ll knock out in spring training, getting used to it, but it’s definitely exciting as a left-handed hitter.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com