Chicago Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger. Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Former Cubs All-Star shares surprising take on Cody Bellinger

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 3/29/23

Heading into the 2023 MLB season, expectations for former National League MVP Cody Bellinger aren't exactly high. However, former Cubs All-Star and 2016 World Series Champion Dexter Fowler believes Bellinger can turn things around on the North Side.

Now a studio analyst for the Marquee Sports Network, Fowler said the former Los Angeles Dodgers standout has his "MVP pedigree back' following a favorable spring.

.@DexterFowler thinks Cody Bellinger is poised for a big year!

Cubs 2023 Season Preview Special on TONIGHT at 6! pic.twitter.com/Peq7VvZ7Z9
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) March 29, 2023

Making his debut with the Dodgers in 2017, Bellinger went on a tear, slashing .278/.369/.559 with 111 home runs and 288 RBI, earning two All-Star nods and an MVP Award only three seasons into his major league career.

Since then, Bellinger's numbers have taken a significant nosedive. After two injury-shortened seasons in 2020 and 2021, Bellinger played 144 games for Los Angeles in 2022, batting .210/.265/.389 with 19 home runs and 68 RBI.

However, after going 9-for-40 with three long balls and eight RBI in 17 spring training games, Bellinger hopes his long struggles at the plate are behind him. This week, Bellinger told Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times that he knew what type of player he was and that he "envisioned" showing it in a Cubs' uniform.

"It's a process; it doesn't come overnight," Bellinger said. "But it will come back again, and someday, I'll be able to look back on all of it and just know that I did everything I could."

There was no way to predict Bellinger's steep fall from grace. However, at only 27 years old, Bellinger has another shot at salvaging what was once a promising career.

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