Andrew Friedman-Scott Boras war of words over Cody Bellinger could affect free agency

The Los Angeles Dodgers' decision to cut Cody Bellinger loose was a tough one -- and some might say a version of cold-blooded -- but what's done is done. The Dodgers are better off and so is Bellinger, who is thriving with the Chicago Cubs, stuck in the midst of a tight NL Central race and on a crash course to make the postseason.

Nobody saw the Dodgers improving as drastically as they have without Belli. Almost nobody saw the Cubs turning into a contender with Belli and their supplementary pieces. But here we are.

So why is super agent and eternal thorn in everybody's side Scott Boras still opening his mouth? We apologize for missing this in Bob Nightengale's recent column about Bellinger (who some thought may have taken a shot at the Dodgers with his free agency comments), but better late than never!

Boras essentially called out the Dodgers and then backtracked after president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was asked about the agent's comments, which has once again created a sort of war of words between the two parties.

Remember in the offseason when Friedman told reporters to ask Boras why Julio Urías wasn't already signed to a contract extension?

Andrew Friedman-Scott Boras war of words over Cody Bellinger could affect free agency

Here's what Boras told Nightengale:

He was hurt, plain and simple. He has surgery, and the Dodgers asked him to play with a 35% strength deficiency, and then with COVID, he was deprived of the expert medical treatment. He didn’t have the shoulder strength. You don’t just go from a .900 OPS to a .500 OPS without understanding the impact of an injury.

So, when he became a free agent, Cody told me, 'I want to go to teams that know me the best, and I want to go where people understand me.'

Even if you hate the Dodgers, that doesn't sound like how the Dodgers do business, which is why the team understably took exception to what Boras said.

Friedman's response, again, was short and to the point.

I don’t want to stoop down to that level. But I find it to be a very convenient narrative. We weren’t surprised by it at all.

This back and forth could very well have implications on free agency. Urías, as we mentioned, is a Boras client. So is impending free agent JD Martinez, who the Dodgers might need to re-sign after Shohei Ohtani's injury. Potential trade target Corbin Burnes, who is a free agent after 2024, is a Boras guy. Jordan Montgomery. Juan Soto (come 2024, but a shot-in-the-dark trade candidate). James Paxton.

At the end of the day, Boras and Friedman can certainly separate the personal from the business, but given the way Bellinger, Corey Seager and Max Scherzer have departed in recent years, how can we be so sure?