Much of the buzz surrounding the Phillies this winter has concerned their efforts to re-sign one or both or Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto. Since either of those free agents might well end up leaving Philadelphia for another team, the Phils have also been doing their due diligence on other major free agents or trade targets, including Tatsuya Imai and Ketel Marte.
Cody Bellinger’s name can now also be added to the list, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan writes that the Phillies “have interest in” the former NL MVP. The Phils join the Yankees, Mets, Angels, Dodgers, and Blue Jays as teams known to have some level of interest in Bellinger’s services.
Since it is known that re-signing Schwarber is the Phillies’ chief priority, Bellinger might represent the team’s backup plan if Schwarber heads elsewhere. While Bellinger doesn’t have Schwarber’s power or overall offensive consistency, there are plenty of reasons why Bellinger would make perhaps even more sense as a fit in the Phillies’ lineup.
Bellinger is also a left-handed hitter, and is coming off a strong 2025 campaign that saw him hit .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs over 656 plate appearances for the Yankees. It was more than enough for Bellinger to decline his $25MM player option for the 2026 season and re-enter the free agent market, looking for the long-term nine-figure deal that has eluded him in previous trips to the open market.
Bellinger had a 125 wRC+ last season, which is a few notches below the 152 wRC+ Schwarber posted during his 56-homer season. Over the 2023-25 seasons, the gap is narrowed to a 135 wRC+ for Schwarber and a 123 wRC+ for Bellinger. In terms of how the two have produced their numbers, it’s a tale of two somewhat opposite skillsets. Bellinger makes a lot of contact and rarely strikes out, though he doesn’t generate much hard contact. Schwarber makes a ton of loud contact, but with the tradeoff of plenty of strikeouts. Both hitters perform well against left-handed pitching so there isn’t a platoon concern, but Bellinger hit far better at Yankee Stadium than he did in road games in 2025.
That aforementioned 2023-25 span also reveals an advantage for Bellinger in fWAR (11.4 to 9.1), as Schwarber being essentially a DH-only player and a subpar corner outfielder leaves him trailing far behind Bellinger in defensive value. As this defensive skillset translates to the Phillies, Bellinger could fill in at first base whenever Bryce Harper needs a DH day. More regularly, Bellinger would be playing in the outfield, perhaps in right field since Nick Castellanos is expected to be traded or maybe just released entirely. A corner outfield slot is a better fit for Bellinger than center field duty, yet Bellinger could be a part-time answer to the Phillies’ needs in center.
For all of the rumors swirling around Bellinger as a trade candidate and free agent in recent years, this is the first time Philadelphia has been properly linked to his market. This doesn’t necessarily mean the Phillies had no interest in the past, but other players were possibly just higher on the wishlist, plus the team’s first base/outfield/DH picture has been relatively crowded.
Between Bellinger’s defensive pluses and the fact that he is over 28 months younger than Schwarber, Bellinger got a slightly higher spot on MLB Trade Rumors’ ranking of the offseason’s top 50 free agents. Bellinger was eighth on our list and Schwarber ninth, with very similar contract predictions — Bellinger five years and $140MM, Schwarber five years and $135MM.
While these are only projections, it isn’t likely that Bellinger represents much or any of a savings for the Phillies as a Schwarber alternative. Bellinger isn’t attached to a qualifying offer, which undoubtedly has some extra appeal to a Phillies team that would pay a steeper penalty for signing a qualified free agent since Philadelphia spent above the luxury tax threshold in 2025. By that same token, the Phils would receive a compensatory pick after only the fourth round of the 2026 draft if one of their own qualified free agents (Schwarber and Ranger Suarez) signed elsewhere.
Funny how we thought this guy was washed up a few years ago and then suddenly a change of scenery and he turns back into a top tier player and coveted free agent
He’s a free agent at the perfect time. Only Tucker will command more money for an OF.
randothecommando:
I wouldn’t touch Bellinger. He’s been very inconsistent in his career and as stated here, his hard hit rate is not very good. I wouldn’t trust him on a long-term contract
I’m sure he appreciates you keeping your hands and other body parts off of him.
Never Remember:
Unless you personally know him, you can’t say you know that for sure…
Love how people keep referencing his hard hit rate year after year when he continually performs. Not everyone gets their numbers the same traditional way. Bellinger has adapted to put the ball in play while sacrificing power with RISP. Very unlikely to strike out and typically puts the ball in play and executed good situational baseball while being able to play multiple positions and steal 20 bases/year. Tremendous value in. That skillset just very different from Schwarber.
16:
Except he doesn’t continually get his numbers. He’s had plenty of off seasons. So a guy who’s been inconsistent who had a poor hard hit rate last season, that’s not a guy I want to invest a long-term contract into.
To be fair, all of his bad years came after that pretty brutal injury. Now that he’s on the other side of it, he’s been doing just fine.
Jaysfansince92:
The Cubs couldn’t wait to dump him last off season coming off a meh season. I’m not saying he’s a bad player, I’m just saying I wouldn’t give him a long-term contract
He’s not a top tier player, though. The Bellinger from earlier in his career is never coming back due to the shoulder injury and change in swing. He’s a different player, a good player, but not MVP-caliber 45-50 HR player anymore.
I agree but I also don’t think anyone is expecting 45-50 homer version of him coming back at this point.
I think it’s more of a change in maturity a lot of times vs scenery. It’s really hard to hit a ball going 98 mph and equally hard to throw one with velocity. So you see players who are called “washed up” but really they just need to refocus to perform at their top level again.
He’s not washed up but he’s no where near the player he used to be. Any team that give him a deal near Schwarber is dumb. And the fact that he’s ranked higher than Schwarber in best FAs available, is curious.
Bellinger has only been good in contract years recently. And “good” is subjective to the watered down stats of what is considered good in the current MLB.
Yankee stadium has a smaller right field fence and most of his hits were all to the pull side. If he doesn’t go to a stadium that has advantages for left handed pull hitters he is not going put up big numbers
Yankee stadium short porch factor. He is a 20 HR bat elsewhere. Rest should hold up.
He would have hit 33 HRs in 2025 if he played all his games in Yankee Stadium.
He would have hit 36 HRs in 2025 if he played all his games in Citizen’s Bank Park.
Wild how that can be calculated but i believe it !
Idk, hard to get away from Schwarbers consistency but I honestly think I prefer beli to him if im the Phillies. In fact, they should be trying hard to ink him rn then deal w Schwarber down the road. Great fit in that lineup and ballpark plus younger and better d.
For the Phillies? They need a better outfield glove. They have enough bat first types.
Tucker I see as the lynchpin going in. When he comes off of the board then the others will follow. Blue Jays will have to decide on Tucker or Bo. Then the markets will flow
@cfs77 are you saying that Bellinger is a bat first type player? He’s actually got a great glove, especially in the outfield corners.
That’s why I like him to the phils
He’s a good glove, not great.
But no one plays all their games at one ball park. Silly stat.
That narrative is overblown. If you look at statcast he would have had a good number of home runs in a lot of stadiums. There are plenty of hitters who hit better at their home parks. When you play that many games at on one park, you can tailor your swing to it. I’m sure after a while you start to see the ball better there too.
He did not put up those numbers as a Cub and going back to the Juiced 2019 he did not do it.
If he has a track record going in that backs your opinion then fine. Just by bWAR he broke 5 x2 ever. 2019 and 2025. Both years he had a natural edge
Not a bad player but expecting another 5 bWAR outside of NYY stadium is dumb. 3-4 is fair and 20-25 HR max
Actually in his first season with the Cubs, he was even better offensively than he was with the Yankees. That is despite Wrigley Field being a poor place for left-handed hitters to hit home runs.
There’s actually 10 stadiums according to Statcast that he would have hit 30 or more home runs in had he played all his games there last season.
boomer take
Even Pete Rose would bet on Dombrowski….
Except in PR , Bellinger and Bader would be a better value than re-signing Schwarber for the Phillies. Or trade for Meyers or Doyle from COL.
But I think it’s going to be a Schwarber reunion ….
Keep Castellanos at DH?
Keep Castellanos on bench in case someone gets injured and to occasionally rest other players, with the unlikely hope of trading him when they are ready to bring up Crawford.
The Phillies will sign Bellinger, Dodgers to sign Tucker, Bo will go back to the Jays.
Cashman, with a sneak attack will sign Michael Tucker!
Book it!
yanks2323:
Yeah, I’m not gonna book that.
😆 i hope it doesn’t happen.
Yeah yanks, but who do the Yankees get?
Time for Cashman to get bumped upstairs where he can’t do as much harm to the complexion of the team….he’s making bad decisions about 2/3’s of the time now and it’s really hurting……great article on how he fell for McMahon while he batted a robust .208 with little to no power….another failed trade while one of the kids he gave up looks very impressive….Cashman is MR. 2-3 for 1 trade guy….always giving up more than he needs to and letting his analytics team convince him that the pig with lipstick he;s looking at isn’t really a pig at all……
and possibly Stan Javier!
So you have both the Dodgers and the Yankees signing Tucker? How’s that going to work? Are they going to have a timeshare?
He said former Braves outfielder Michael Tucker…pay attention!
Old Mike Tucker was a fine old man
Washed his face in a frying pan
No, he’s right. I meant Michael Taylor 😆
Victor French is smiling from above and appreciates your comment.
Sports are not to be taken seriously. Oxygen is though.
Why not both?
Re-sign your guys, keep the integrity of the team. Leave Belli to the Yankees. Grazie.
Putting Bellinger in RF and pushing Castellanos to the DH spot would probably benefit the Phillies more than just Schwarber’s bat.
Castellanos will never wear a Phillies uniform again.
you dont know what he does at home, so…..
Terrible take and also nonsensical. Castellanos is out. When will the Phillies address the glaring lack of right handed power is my question. After Sanchez and luzardo who do you trust in this rotation is my second question. Lots of work for Dumbrowski IMO.
It terms of win value, certainly, By a considerable margin considering Schwarber adds no defensive value and Castellanos is a net negative in that same category. I would take either (or both) of them for 5 and $125M-$140 but I wouldn’t pay more than that.
People can question Bellinger all they want, but the key is this: Would he improve the Phillies’ subpar outfield? Yes dramatically.
Considerably. Nothing against Schwarber, but Castellanos is a net negative. And I have nothing against Castellanos. I actually like him. But he was signed to hit and he didn’t. Time to move on.
The thing that always concerns me about guys like Belli…first of all, you’re paying extra for his 2025 stats but there are two issues: one, his # of homers was partly due to that short porch in right field at Yankee stadium and second, like a lot of players, they produce inflated numbers in their walk year.( BTW, players always talk about playing hard, but how come they can always seem to squeeze out a better performance in their free agent years? Does make you wonder.)
Meanwhile, the other thing that would give me pause is his age. He’s not old, so don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. But guys in their 30s can suddenly start to decline without notice so thats just something you always need to pay attention to. That all said, I like Belli. He was great when he was with my Cubs. 2ndDecent leader in the clubhouse too.
IMO, Phillies do the best job in baseball at signing free agents. Harper was a steal of a contract, Schwarber, wheeler, Turner, even realmuto and castellanos performed up to or better than their contract most years.
It’s not an ez business building a team that way so props to them for getting so many big names to come to Philly, stay healthy, and perform
I agree in general, but lets not gloss over Castellanos, Romano and Walker.
Romano may be their worst of all time. But at least it was a one year deal.
Not last season off-season. Multiple busts. Romano, Joe Ross, and Kepler were the priciest signings and all were complete disasters.
Castellanos has not even come close to playing up to his contract year.
Love me some rumors at MLBTR. Just make sure not to report actual signings as that wouldn’t be on topic with the site’s name and content.
What’s the odds this is leaked baloney to influence Schwarber?
About 99%.
Make it happen Phillies.
From a Boston perspective , Bellinger signing anywhere but the Bronx would be sublime. That would put them in a huge OF quandary with no one but Tucker to acquire… at his price. The media and fans will riot since they let Soto and Belli get away and Judge is left to carry the team, wasting their WS chances during his prime years.
The Phillies are ruining baseball!
Not happening. They aren’t signing a lefty outfielder to play RF for $28M while allowing Schwarber and/or JT to walk.
Phillies interested in driving up the price .. marte would be an interesting add
I was interested in buying a Subaru Outback hybrid
Then I saw the price
Now I am interested but not buying one
While he fits the need to improve the outfield, I dont like belli at the cost he wants. So im definitely leaning schwarber. But they will still need to address the outfield and their isnt much to like on the free agent market for the outfield beyond tucker and belli. Id consider resigning ranger and dealing luzardo for outfield help.
If I’m the Phillies, gimme Bellinger over Schwarber. Schwarber is a great slugger/OBP guy and all, but he’s rather one dimensional and he’s turning 33 next year. Bellinger can play great defense and is a solid hitter in his own way, and will be 31 next year. Thinking they’ll end up signing similar AAV deals, and if that’s the case Bellinger is the better bet going forward.
The Mets need Bellinger, forget the Phillies, especially if Alonso doesn’t resign, that’s why the Mets should sign BELLINGER right now and if Pete resigns than Bellinger plays the OF
While Bellinger unquestionably has rescued his career, has value, and will get a big contract, this seems a little like a feint to me by the Phillies.
Every year the Phillies say they are too left-handed heavy and need a right handed bat and then end up signing another lefty. I like Cody, but the only way this makes sense is if Kyle leaves in free agency. Then you can prolong Bryce Harper‘s and Cody Bellinger‘s career by having them split time between first base and DH.
If Schwarber does not re-sign, and they also loose Realmuto I can see the Phillies taking a serious consideration of signing Bellinger, but I also see the likely hood in the next few days making a solid trade offer to the D’Backs for Marte.
If Bellinger were smart he’d stay in NY. His game plays best there and the fans love him.
But then again, Belly has never been confused for a Rhodes Scholar.
Wouldn’t sign either Schwarber or bellinger to anything more than 3 year contact. Maybe 4 yrs with Bellinger. Bellinger is good not great . Schwarber will be an offensive failure without high obp guys before and after him and he limits rotating DH option because his glove work isn’t MLB calibre