People think too much.

“Bellinger is a great player, MVP-caliber for sure, but half their team is,” says New York Mets reliever Seth Lugo. “Same thing with the Braves – they have so many really good guys. Not to say the Nationals don’t, but in my opinion, Rendon just stands out more among those guys than other players among their teammates. To me, that’s what a real MVP is.

“If the Dodgers lose Bellinger, they got plenty of guys that can cover. If they lose Rendon, they’re in trouble.”

Trout detractors point out his team isn’t good enough.

Bellinger detractors point out his team is too good.

So the MVP should be on a good-enough team, on the playoff cusp, pushed into the playoffs by their star player. Uh huh.

If Rendon is the best player in 2019, then he’s the MVP. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t.

If you think he can’t be replaced in this imaginary argument, then I challenge the notion by replacing him with Bellinger. If I do that, then the Nationals might be in first place in their division. Which would make them too good for an MVP.