Cody Bellinger will decline his $25MM player option and become a free agent, reports Jorge Castillo of ESPN. That was never much in doubt, as the outfielder will hit the open market after one strong season with the Yankees. He’ll collect a $5MM buyout, half of which will be paid by the Cubs.
The Yanks had been tied to Bellinger in free agency and trade rumors for years. That finally came to fruition last offseason with what amounted to a salary dump trade with Chicago. Bellinger was coming off a relative down ’24 season (.266/.325/.426) and passed on his first opt-out chance in his three-year deal. The Cubs pulled off the Kyle Tucker trade to add a needed impact bat in the middle of the order. That left them without an outfield spot for Bellinger, so they sent him to the Yankees for essentially no return.
New York absorbed $47.5MM of the $52.5MM remaining on Bellinger’s contract. The Cubs paid $2.5MM of his $27.5MM salary this season and are responsible for the other $2.5MM on the buyout. The Yankees wound up paying $27.5MM for one year — $25MM in salary and the remaining half of the buyout.
That proved a worthwhile investment even if the team had a disappointing exit in this week’s Division Series. Bellinger played about as well as could be expected. He hit .272/.334/.480 across 656 plate appearances. Bellinger hit 29 homers, his best single-season total since he connected on 47 longballs during his 2019 MVP season. He swiped 13 bases while cutting his strikeout rate to a career-low 13.7% clip.
Bellinger’s left-handed swing seemed tailor made for Yankee Stadium. He hit 18 homers with a .302/.365/.544 batting line at home. His road numbers were essentially league average, as he slashed .241/.301/.414 outside the Bronx. That could give some teams pause about how the bat will play if he signs elsewhere. Bellinger didn’t find the robust market he wanted when he was a free agent during the 2023-24 offseason, nor was there significant trade interest when the Cubs shopped him last winter. If there were, the Yankees would’ve needed to give up more than journeyman righty Cody Poteet to acquire him.
That’s largely because of Bellinger’s pedestrian batted ball metrics. He has been in the bottom quarter of the league in average exit velocity in each of the past three seasons. He doesn’t have a ton of bat speed and certainly doesn’t hit the ball as hard as he did early in his career — before he suffered a shoulder injury that tanked his numbers between 2021-22. Bellinger has compensated for the drop in bat speed by cutting his strikeouts every season, and he carries a .281/.338/.477 line in nearly 1800 plate appearances over the past three years.
Bellinger returns to the market a few months after his 30th birthday. He’s young enough to seek a five- or six-year deal. Bellinger is a better defender and arguably superior all-around hitter than Anthony Santander, who signed for five years with a net present value around $69MM last winter. There’s little reason Bellinger shouldn’t beat that contract fairly handily. It wouldn’t at all be surprising if his camp starts out with an asking price in the $100-150MM range.
The Cubs issued Bellinger a qualifying offer after the 2023 season. That makes him ineligible to receive a QO for the rest of his career. The Yankees would not receive any kind of compensation if he signs elsewhere, nor would another team forfeit a pick. New York can and probably will make a qualifying offer, which would land around $22MM, to Trent Grisham. They’re also set to have Luke Weaver, Devin Williams, Paul Goldschmidt and a handful of role players hit the open market. Williams entered the season as a qualifying offer candidate, but the Yankees are probably content to let him move on after an uneven season in pinstripes.
Stunning
Stunningly expected. : -)
Not like it hasn’t happened before.
He’ll re-sign with the Yankees. Perfect stadium and they need each other too much not to get a new deal done.
He is a Boras client. Profits-before-productivity Hal and Mr Warped Analytics Cashman will be outbid by the Phillies (in whose Stadium he’ll thrive), Rangers or Giants(where his numbers would crater).
Bellinger and the Yanks were a perfect match. Too bad his agent’s goal isn’t winning, only maximum income.
But that’s Boras-ball.
@ctb
Your implication that Hal is thrifty and unwilling to spend at the top of the market is hilarious. Your like the wife that has the Cartier earrings, Patek watch, Gucci shoes and drives a luxury car by complains that her husband didn’t run out and get her the Bottega wallet that compliments the Birkin bag you just gave her on her birthday which was on December 20th.
The union should insist that players have a say in which team they sign with when they are FAs.
Players always have the final say.
@JoeBrady what is this nonsense? When the ink dries, it doesn’t say Boras above the player line for signature to make the contract binding. It would say Cody Bellinger and I am sure that is telling the world that a player has the final say.
Boras has always been and will always be first and foremost all about Boras and making Boras all the money he can as well as playing kingmaker with the owners. Players are just meat on the hoof. Owners are just rich people to pay the bills and get all kinds of free things from. Boras is smart and very good at what he does… yet detestable.
They always have since free agency began. Why would you think differently? The MLBPA is weak and poorly run by Tony Clark, but this topic has never been an issue.
What are you talking about ??
You can’t handle the truth! *pounds the trash can*
4/$100. Nothing more.
lol. He gonna b the next aging Yankee vet on a bloated contract. He’s getting more in years and annual salary. And he’s gonna be a yankee 🔒
Yanks have options. Cashman has shown lately that he’s not afraid to walk away from expensive vets like Bregman, Alonso, Santander, etc. Tucker is a younger, albeit more expensive option, but at least it would make sense to give the longer deal to him rather than Beli. Tucker isn’t repped by Boras like Beli is so of the Yanks are aggressive and Tucker is cool with being a Yank then that deal might get done quicker than trying to deal with Boras who will try and wait out the market to get the best deal for Beli who is looking for what will likely be his last big payday. Go hard like they did for Fried ND slightly overpay for the guy you want at the top of the market. If the market is silly, then I could imagine Cashman bringing back Grisham and creating a false competition between Dominguez and Spencer Jones for LF. If Dominguez shows he deserves a space in LF/CF but Grisham regresses, then Jones could force himself on to the team midseason.
I get what you’re saying, but the comparison is a little off. Tucker projected to get $400+ for 10+ years. Bellinger is probably gonna get $100, maybe a little more. 4 or 5 year deal. Idk, seems like they need more than just Tucker replacing bellinger. Doesn’t seem like replacing a 29yr old with better numbers last year is worth an extra $15 million plus 10 year contract, plus who the hell know if he’ll handle NY media
I don’t think yanks need Tucker. Their offense is potent as is. they’ll have to give beli an extra year so prob 5 yrs/150 mil gets it done. I cant imagine either side not happy w that contract and seems like smtg thatll get done early in offseason
How did Tucker do dealing with the aggressive Chicago sports media? Certainly a different group of reporters and broadcasters compared with Houston.
Just a ho-hum 143 OPS+, 20-20 HR-SB, 4.5 bWAR season.
@bry
I don’t see Tucker getting anywhere near $400 million. He didn’t have an elite year. He’s not a top 5 player right now. I think his top offer is going to be around 7/$250
I think he gets 4/ 115 from somebody!
The Pirates would sign him for 4 years, $25 a season. But I think he’s asking for more like $30 + million a season. Which is a LITTLE more than they are usually willing to spend.
This is shaping up to be a solid FA class for hitters. Alonso, naylor, bellinger, tucker, bichette, bregman (assuming opt out), eugenio, schwarber
I’ll believe Pete Alonso leaves the Mets when I see it.
You’ll be seeing it this off season
Alonso is a player that I’m not crazy about, but a perfect fit for my RS..
Henry paying a 1B DH type aint likely. He’s got too much Moneyball in his mindset to pay for it.
He’s more likely to try and get a cheaper option on a short deal. Or pay for a big name OF that’ll sell tickets like a Manny Ramirez.
Alonso would be a good fit for the RS, Joe. I could see the Mets picking up Bellinger if Alonso asks for too much; not an improbable situation. Alonso is very durable, has played every game the last two year, averages 29 doubles and 42 HR per 162. Not the slickest guy at first base, but he might kill the ball in Fenway.
That was obvious. Take care Bellinger, go play with Soto. Yankees needs to see what Dominez and Jones can do. They are cheap. Unless they unload Stanton. Judge can DH and the outfield of Bellinger, Dominez and Jones could be interesting. Bye bye to Grisham also. He’s not worth the amount of the Qualifying offer.
A $300 million dollar payroll is now cheap?
Not cheap, but neither is the state income tax being almost double than 70% of the other states. These players care about what’s going in their pocket and you gotta pay up for that in these major cities. Blue Jays had to pay up and pay Vald majority of his contract as a signing bonus. That was the only way they were keeping him. No shot he was paying those ludicrous Toronto Taxes. IMO a lot of “small market” teams get players on a discount because contract smaller, but the payday ends up being the same.
$22M for Grisham is total insanity. It’s a stretch to think he’s worth even half of that.
Jones in left, re-signing Bellinger for center and Judge in right.
dewey:,Jones strikes out too much and is nowhere near MLB-ready.
Jones has improved at every level. The better the pitching he sees, the more he produces. Also, he got hurt after a sizzling first month in AAA. He’ll do better than you expect — plus he frees up money to bring in a quality veteran infielder to replace Volpe.
ctbronx7: He struck out 109 times in 263 ABs, or 41.4%, at SWB. That would jump to more than 50% against MLB pitchers.
Definitely not ready until at least midseason next year in the most optimistic scenario.
I never thought much of Jones, because of the Ks, but he had a pretty good year in 2025. He’s now a threat.
Yankees will bring em both back. Def not on a QO for Grisham but they’ll both want to return as well
Big whiffa: How can you know that without seeing what is offered by other teams?
Belli can handle NY, that’s what’s most important. Plus players want to get paid and produce on the field so where it’s the perfect ballpark for him- he will want to return. It’s a safe place with a ton of money coming to him and he’s more of a risk in any other ball park due to his history. Yankees will offer the most and he will jump on it. Even as a boras client, beli will come off the board early
But not necessarily since you really don’t know if the Yankees will make the biggest offer.
You’re just engaging in hopeful speculation and wishful thinking.
I’m not a Yankees fan and I could care less where he signs. I draw my conclusion from 25 years of following baseball free agency. You are the one speculating lmao
…couldn’t care less…
We saw what Jasson can do, and he’s tradeable. I’d take back Bellinger in a heartbeat.
Yanks need to say goodbye to him
Are you sure? He hit.302.365.544 at Yankee Stadium,much less elsewhere.
Who cares
We got Spencer Jones ready to go
And the Martian is awesome
I think the Yanks trade either Jones or the Martian this winter..
And he led them to a world championship
No we don’t. I like Bellinger a lot.
I guess we disagree
But I so so hope he is gone
What exactly is the reasoning and who is replacing him?
Spencer Jones is the future
The yanks keep signing bozos like Cody and the team always flops in the post season
Bellinger at 29 has three quality years left. His best years could be ahead of him.
Buster Posey what say you?
He would suck in San Francisco. His season was a product of Yankee stadium. Doubt he’d hit 20 homeruns playing half his games there
Good point. I hope Posey recognizes this
Posey will; Boras won’t.
Bellinger turned 30 in July.
What if he wants a 7 year deal ?
He’s gonna sit and watch everyone else sign deals.
It will be interesting to see if he beats 25 million annually. Outside of the Yanks and maybe the Metropolitans, who is laying that out?
He may not expect to beat the annual rate, but instead look to gain more length.
Giants need an OF and he’d be cheaper than Tucker. Only problem is, Oracle is death on lefties.
Bonds had no problems there, and Devers seems to be doing fine.
Bonds had “help”.
Bellinger is a dead pull hitter though. Like check his statcast – literally all his HR this year are to right field.
Where were his non-pull flyballs? Were they warning track fly outs?
He will have plenty of suitors. Doubt any will pay what Yankees will and he will make more that 25 per for sure
I think teams like the Orioles and Tigers will kick the tires and the Mets and Phillies could get in if they lose Alonso/Schwarber respectively. Beyond that, the Yankees may make an effort to keep him, the Angels have never met an aging slugger they didn’t like, and maybe the Giants or Mariners get in the mix
The Tigers seem like an odd fit to me: Their OF is almost set with Greene, Carpenter, Meadows, Vierling, Jones, Perez plus Clark as a hopeful. They don’t have an opening at 1B either and play in a rather pitcher-friendly park. I don’t see them dishing out a multi-year $ 20m AAV-contract for Bellinger.
Gruß,
BSHH
Rsox- Mariners? They don’t buy FAs. Largest FA contract of the past 11 years was Mitch Garver. I do see the M’s going all-in to retain Eugenio which would complicate the fiscal outlook for any other major signing.
he’d set records for flag court shots at Camden Yards. come to Baltimore, Cody.
The Mariners have 1B/RF/DH AB’s to give and are going to have to fill them somehow
Understood, but I suspect they’ll shop on a lower tier. Better chance of bringing Ty France back then signing Belli, IMHO o/c.
Scott borass usually finds an idiot to overpay his clients
This is great
nbcnewyork.com/news/sports/scott_boras_reads_from_…
So nice that this is happening now, and not after the World Series, because the Yankees are heading for the couch till February.
Yanks need to keep him. A perfect fit for the Yankees! Had a great year and is a great defender!
Does he even want to stay in the Bronx? That’s the question
100%
5 at $30 million with a club up option and buyout. Fair for both sides. If he wants more guaranteed years best of luck. He and the stadium are made for each other.
Mets need to sign Bellinger to play CF and they need to find a way to trade off Nimmo’s god awful contract
It would be typical LOLmets for Bellinger to move to Queens. Steve Cohen would be wedded to Scott Boras as much as the Wilpons were wedded to Bernie Madoff.
No surprise but Boras might have to do one of his best selling jobs for this guy. Analytics people all over the league may well be whispering to their front offices that Bellinger is a Yankee Stadium mirage with poor underlying metrics. Maybe somebody will cough up that $100-150 million the post talks about, but a lot of teams – including the traditional big spenders – could just say no to such a big financial risk.
Another short-term pillow contract? We’ll see.
Same scenario for Alonso. These players are making too much money with these long contracts, nobody is blocking their DH spot for him. It’s a different game now. Soto or Lindor can’t play the field, they’re DHing. Judge can’t play the field, he’s DHing.
As least for Bellinger he can play multiple positions and still not 30. Alonso is solely the bat . It’ll be interesting
Schwarber has “slow feet.” Compared to the perfect form you saw from Goldschmidt as a fielder, Kyle would like Giambi. Defensive Runs Saved is a legit stat.
*be like Giambi.
And when is Lindor going to be unable to play the field? Let us in on your secret.
Why would a healthy 29 y.o 5 bWAR outfielder with very good defense and a career wRC+ 119 need to sign another pillow contract?
Because smart FOs are looking at recent years instead of pre-injury career numbers?
I wonder if it’s remotely possible that he might – once again – end up settling on a 3 year guarantee (but for like $80M to $90M this time around instead of $60M) along with the same two player opt-outs as last time.
That would be kind of amusing.
No surprise here. But I was disappointed we didn’t see more HR from Bellinger last year, especially with that inviting short RF porch.
Believe the Yankees will try to re-sign him but I wouldn’t go overboard with the effort.
Kyle Schwarber is a FA. He might hit 70 homers playing at Yankee Stadium. But he’s pretty much been a DH-only guy the past two years. Could he play a decent enough 1B to be an asset given that Stanton is the Yankees’ primary DH.?
Asking for a friend.
Belli shortens up his swing with two strikes. He could’ve eclipsed 30+ HR easily while sacrificing his BA.
Did the same thing in Chicago.
Shorten their swing like half of baseball players do? Brilliant observation.
Looks like the Yankees loose again!
At least the Yankees didn’t lose.
Oh but they did that too!
Bellinger is already the 4th-highest-paid outfielder, only behind Soto, Judge, and Trout and he doesn’t fall into their category.
If he is looking for anything more than 5 years from the Yankees without team options, then move on and go after Tucker.
The Mets should sign Bellinger to play CF or RF and move Soto to LF with Nimmo becoming the F/T DH unless he’s traded. If Alonso doesn’t resign I would make a trade with Houston for C. Walker since we’ll need a right handed bat in the lineup, than sign Framber Valdez and make a trade for Joe Ryan.
Rotation: Valdez, Ryan, McLean, Manaea, Senga and Tong/ Sproat. I’m sure Sproat or Tong will be in the Ryan deal, this will help the BP too by moving Holmes and Peterson there
Jvent: You realize Judge moved so Soto could play Rf in the Bronx? I don’t know how flexible Soto is going to be about moving. The good news is he’ll be a Dh in a few more years.
Judge moved to CF because Judge in CF and Soto in RF provided a better overall defense for the team. You wouldnt want Soto in CF. He has played in LF in numerous points of his career (played 154 games there in 2023 for the Padres) so im really not sure where youre coming up with him potentially being too stubborn to play LF?
I love the way your wishes are unfettered by reality. You’re going to “make a trade” for C. Walker and for Joe Ryan as well. Senga is going to hold down a position in the rotation. Soto will move to left because you like the idea. And I guess you’re ok with trading Tong because, because…
Well since the Phillies need RH(!) power, it only makes sense after Tucker signs w/ LA for multiple bank vaults, that they pivot to Belli…
Hopefully not Kepler 2.0
Belli was great this year. I hope we re-sign him.
My prediction for what borass will want
6/200 or 8/250 or 7/225
I bet he will find a sucker
I certainly wouldn’t give him that
I hate opt outs After good season He opts out if he sucks the team is stuck with him.
I think Belly is a good bet to return to the Yanks, he is a good fit for them!
Yikes, those away numbers. Please don’t come to Oracle.
I think this is the guy that replaces Alonso on the Mets. Can play two positions they need, with 1B being the primary.
Maybe he’ll resign with the Cubbies? God knows Kyle Tucker wasn’t up to the task.
No kidding? Cooperstown, here we come.