Column: Plaschke | Struggling Dodgers need rookie Cody Bellinger’s bat in lineup

The bases were loaded early Tuesday evening, and there was seemingly only one spot on the Dodger Stadium field where Cody Bellinger could hit a ball that would clear them.

It was a distant spot, a remote spot, deep in a left-field corner that was surrounded by a freshly mowed green emptiness.

The shifting San Francisco Giants didn’t think he could hit it there. Common sense indicates that a 21-year-old playing in just his eighth major league game could not hit it there.

Bellinger hit it there.

Using his bat like a wand, the left-handed hitter shot an opposite-field laser that curled into the warning-track dirt. By the time it had been retrieved and returned by the sheepish Giants, Bellinger was standing on third base, three runs had scored, and a three-word plea echoed through Chavez Ravine.

The kid stays.

The Dodgers have been thinking about sending Bellinger back to triple-A Oklahoma City this weekend, but now that thinking must end. The roster must be juggled. Room must be made.

The kid stays, even when Joc Pederson comes off the disabled list, even with Andrew Toles deserving another outfield spot, and even with Yasiel Puig still hanging around.

As Bellinger showed again in the Dodgers’ 13-5 victory over the Giants on Tuesday, the kid is already their best hitting outfielder. The kid is one of their three best hitters, period. If they want to keep their veteran outfield intact, the kid can play first base when they finally decide to do the right thing and put Adrian Gonzalez on the disabled list to allow his forearm and back to heal.

No matter where he plays, the kid stays.

And after Tuesday’s game, maybe the Dodgers are starting to agree?

“Cody has done everything he can to show he warrants a continued opportunity,” manager Dave Roberts said. “A lot can happen between now and Friday.”

What else does anybody need to see? Bellinger has already fulfilled almost every duty required of a rookie hitter in this town, combining Puig excitement with Corey Seager calm.

Power? On Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies, he hit two homers in a span of three innings.

Precision? Twice he’s laid down shift-defying bunts along the third-base line, both good for a shock and a single.

Cool? His two homers against the Phillies helped the Dodgers mount a game-winning comeback, while his second-inning triple Tuesday tied the score.

Numbers? He is batting .345 with an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of 1.061.

Gasps? It seems like everything he hits, it sings. Even when it bounces, it blares. In one game, he mashed a line drive that flew into the stands on one hop, and some some say it was the hardest Dodgers hit all season.

Hollywood? His mother Jennifer, who has been his visible cheerleader during his first homestand, has been shown on Spectrum SportsNet LA more than Orel Hershiser.

The kid stays.

“Cody’s done a great job, he’s played well, there’s definitely a spark he’s contributed to our club,” Roberts said. “It seems like every time he takes the field, he does something to help you win. To me that’s a winning player.”

Granted, the Dodgers were not planning on bringing him up as soon as they did; injuries forced his invitation. And understandably, they would like him to play more than 18 games at triple A considering his age, and that this is only his fourth year in full-season professional baseball.

But, now, forget it. Tear up the blueprint. The Dodgers offense has basically two players who are regularly producing. The offense is the reason this potentially great team is treading among the mediocre. This is not about marketing, it’s about hitting, and Bellinger provides the pop the Dodgers desperately needs.

He will surely struggle. Pitchers will find holes in his giant swing. He will have to adjust. The Dodgers will have to be patient. The talent will be tested. But the talent needs to be here.

The kids stays, and the easiest way the Dodgers can keep him here is to rest Gonzalez. Bellinger took his place Tuesday night, and could easily remain there while the struggling veteran gets right.

Gonzalez has never been on the disabled list in his sterling 14-year career, so it might be a tough move, but at least for now, it could be the right move, so much that Roberts even addressed it.

“With a player like Adrian, a guy who has never been on DL his entire career, it says a lot about character and the will to want to post,” said Roberts before Tuesday’s game. “I can only go on his word and the training staff in the sense of, ‘I feel good enough to play.’”

Gonzalez, however, has been a different hitter this season, even though he drove in a run Tuesday night with a hard pinch single. This season he has yet to homer in 90 at-bats and, since Aug. 27 of last season, he has only two homers in 192 at-bats. For a guy who has had at least 18 homers in each of his last dozen seasons, this is a big deal, and considering he arrived in spring training with forearm tendinitis, injuries appear to be a factor.

“He’s talked about not being 100%,” said Roberts. “Obviously, if there’s a performance thing, and a bigger issue is if there’s further damage. He feels like he can still go out there, so I’ve got to continue to count on that, but we’ll see, there’s going to be ongoing conversations.”

Management can talk all it wants, about whoever its wants, as long as when the discussion ends, Cody Bellinger stays.

bill.plaschke@latimes.com

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