Dodgers: Ranking the team’s most untouchable pieces

Cody Bellinger

After a scorching couple of weeks, the rookie has understandably cooled off. However, this doesn’t take away from the 21-year-old’s ability or importance fo the Dodgers. Everyone knows that Cody Bellinger is the heir at first base for Adrian Gonzalez, and if everything goes as planned, he’ll be at the receiving end of throws from the rest of the Dodger infield for a long time.

Remember, the reason that Brian Dozier is not wearing Dodger Blue is that the front office was unwilling to part with the prospect. After seeing Dozier’s 2016 season, it said a lot of how they viewed Bellinger.

Top prospects don’t always pan out, but when they do, you have to hold onto them. It may be a small sample-size, but Bellinger has not shown signs of being a bust so far; he had seven home runs in his first 16 games and is the quickest Dodger to eight home runs (23 games). When you combine his pop, elite defensive ability, defensive versatility, and athleticism, you have the makings of a future superstar.

Middle-of-the-order bats do not always come around, so like successful prospects, when you have a legit heart-of-the-order-bat, hold onto it. Remember, it has not even been a year since Bellinger could legally drink, meaning he can be a vital part of the team for 10-15 years.

Maybe the best part of it all is that Bellinger is under team control through 2022 and will be very affordable. Him being so cheap allows the Dodgers to be financially flexible in free agency once the large contracts of the team’s veterans come off their books.

So why trade a young and affordable player that the fans love, for an established veteran with less upside who will probably give you similar production at a higher cost for a lesser amount of time? No reason.