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Major League Baseball owners locked out the players in early December, but before that there was a rush contract signings. Numerous free agency deals were completed, and on Thursday, we learned of one deal that was not announced at the time. The Los Angeles Dodgers and outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger agreed to terms on a one-year, $17 million deal to avoid arbitration, per ESPN.
Bellinger is coming off the worst season of his career. he had a slash line of .165/.240/.302 and finished with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs in 95 games. He did have a solid postseason across 12 games. He had a slash line of .353/.436/.471, finishing with one home run and seven RBIs.
Bellinger earned $16.1 million last season in his second season of arbitration. The year before he set a salary record for a first-time eligible arbitration player. He earned $11.5 million off an MVP season in 2019. If the team had decided they did not want to pay him the $17 million, they would have had to non-tender him, making him a free agent.