Los Angeles Dodgers president Andrew Friedman was not terribly pleased with remarks made by agent Scott Boras regarding the team’s handling of Cody Bellinger.
Bellinger has seen his career revived this season with the Chicago Cubs after being non-tendered by the Dodgers during the offseason. In a recent USA Today story by Bob Nightengale spotlighting the turnaround, Boras was quoted as saying the Dodgers “asked him to play with a 35% strength deficiency, and then with COVID, he was deprived of the expert medical treatment.” To some, this looked like Boras was blaming the Dodgers for making Bellinger play hurt after his 2019 MVP season.
These comments were put to Friedman, who dismissed Boras’ comments and hinted that the agent’s Boras Sports Training Institute should have also been mentioned.
“I don’t want to stoop down to that level,” Friedman told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. “But I find it to be a very convenient narrative. We weren’t surprised by it at all.
“What I found really interesting was that there was no mention of the Boras Institute and its role in any of this. But I’ll just leave it at that.”
The comments prompted Boras to issue a statement clarifying that the Dodgers were not to blame for any of Bellinger’s injury issues and did not force him to play.
Friedman obviously does not want his organization getting a reputation for making players play injured. His singling out of Boras’ sports training center is also interesting, as he seems to be suggesting that Boras himself could have done more to help his client.
Bellinger became a popular target as he struggled through three terrible seasons after his 2019 campaign. He is now hitting .316 with 20 home runs for the Cubs, so something clearly changed, be it his health or something else.
