The Yankees made a formal contract offer to Cody Bellinger this week, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Specifics of the proposal aren’t known.
General manager Brian Cashman has made no secret of the team’s desire to keep Bellinger. The former MVP’s first year in the Bronx was excellent. He hit .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs, his most in a season since 2019. Bellinger’s bat played very well at Yankee Stadium, where he put up a .302/.365/.544 line with 18 longballs.
New York acquired Bellinger from the Cubs last winter in what amounted to a salary dump. They parted with journeyman righty Cody Poteet while assuming all but $5MM of the remaining two years and $52.5MM on Bellinger’s contract. As he ended up opting out, the Yankees paid $27.5MM for that excellent year. It might require a five- or six-year commitment to bring him back as he enters his age-30 season.
The Yankees have had a quiet first couple months of the offseason. Their only move of significance was issuing the qualifying offer to Trent Grisham. He surprisingly accepted and is back in center field on a one-year deal at $22.025MM. Bellinger was ineligible to receive the QO after getting one from the Cubs over the 2023-24 offseason.
Grisham’s salary accounts for the majority of the $29.025MM they’ve spent in free agency so far. The remaining $7MM has been divided among a trio of one-year deals to bring back Paul Blackburn, Amed Rosario and Ryan Yarbrough. Their only MLB acquisition from outside the organization has been Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest.
That certainly won’t be the Yankees’ entire offseason. They presumably expected Bellinger’s free agency to carry well into the winter. The top two free agent hitters, Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette, each make sense on paper if Bellinger heads elsewhere. Signing one of Tucker or Bellinger would allow them to rotate their outfielders through the designated hitter spot if Giancarlo Stanton spends any time on the injured list. Bellinger could spell Ben Rice at first base and/or take playing time in left field from Jasson Domínguez, who still has a pair of options remaining.
An outfielder isn’t an absolute necessity, but it’s probably the cleanest path to adding an impact position player. Shortstop would be the primary alternative. Bichette is the only real solution there and faces questions about his defensive fit. He could be an option to handle shortstop for a season and move over to second base once Jazz Chisholm Jr. hits free agency a year from now. The Yankees have reportedly made Chisholm available in trade conversations, but that’d swap out one of their better all-around position players in the process.
The other option would be to make a rotation splash with Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt opening the season on the injured list. Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez and Zac Gallen are the best remaining free agent starters now that NPB righty Tatsuya Imai is off the board on a three-year deal with Houston. The Yankees were one of the teams linked to Imai when he was a free agent, but both Heyman and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com wrote after the signing that the Yanks were not seriously involved in the bidding.
RosterResource projects the Yankees for a $286MM luxury tax number. Owner Hal Steinbrenner has spoken generally about a desire to stay below the $300MM mark in the past, though Cashman suggested in November that’s not a firm limit this offseason. The Yankees had a $320MM luxury tax payroll at the end of the 2025 season.
My guess is Cashman expressed a desire to bring Beli back but didn’t want his offer shopped around and told him to see what’s out they’re and come back once he was done surveying the market. Now Cashman is ready to put his money on the table.
Yeah, I will be stunned if he doesn’t stay in the Bronx.
Bellinger’s home away splits say stay with the Yankees. Just like Bregman staying in Boston.
Lou – 100%, it is in Bellinger’s best interest to stay.
Bregman
Home: OPS 761
AWAY: OPS 875
It’s the opposite with Bregman.
Bellinger does have a pretty significant home-away split but generally speaking, players frequently have favorable home splits. They become adjusted to their park from experience.
Maybe…especially if Soto did that last year. I love him, but is Bellinger a guy to outspend others on? That’s the question.
@Sal
I wouldn’t say it’s too outbid but just not wanting to be used to drive the price up.
What took so long? It would be funny if Belli turns it down and leaves. I probably would.
Five years at $30 to $31 million per year for Schwarber and Alonso. Belli provides similar WAR with a lesser bat but defensive usefulness.
Seems like the price will be the same as Schwarber. $150 million for five years, no opt outs and a no trade clause.
If the Yankees sign Bichette and want to trade Jazz I could see Preller trading Cronenworth and a prospect or two or three for him to shed some salary relief. Most likely a long shot but you never know.
@BillThe Thrill10
What position would Cronenworth play for the Yankees? If they sign Bichette, it would probably be to play second base.
@ El Kabong Cronenworth can play all around the infield and be a super utility type guy. Giving guys days off or days as a DH if Stanton is hurt. Plus he could be handle shortstop fairly well on the event Volope struggles again. The way I see it, Yankees get a solid role player and a few prospects for a utility guy that is probably a little under market value and the Padres get Jazz for a year for a cheaper salary and get out of the Cronenworth deal long term. Win win for both teams.
Cronenworth is 4 yrs older and half the player Jazz is. In no universe is trading him and a few “low level” prospects for Jazz any kind of win for the yankees side of things
The aav on cronenworths deal is about 12 mil annually through 2030..that is not alot of money annually for an above average player, do you really think they would give him plus up to 3 prospects for 1 year of jazz..seriously with jazz’s injury history and what he brings to the table for 1 year..there is just no way preller would do that. ..jazz isn’t worth that return.
@Poolhalljunkies It all depends on who the prospects that Preller is willing to give up. Three low level prospects or lottery ticket guys and Cronenworth for Jazz seems fair to me. Padres get to free up some money long term,replace Cronenworth immediately for a lesser salary,and can recoup a draft pick next year with a qualifying offer to Jazz once he signs with someone else next off season. If Preller were to trade a higher level prospect then of course it would be just one or two. But either way, they would need to use those prospects to entice the Yankees to take the deal. You say no way Preller would do that but that’s exactly the type of moves he’s been making these last 5 years or so.
I can’t really see that trade tbh, but you’re right you never know.
@Salzilla Look at the trades Preller has been doing the last 5 years or so. It’s exactly the type of trade he would do.
Maybe that’s why you don’t get Imai. Either way, Astros get Imai so I’m happy. I don’t care who gets Bellinger.
Yankees spending=Normal
Let’s clear up what Hal actually said:
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner claimed it was too early in the offseason to determine his team’s payroll range for the 2026 season, but he’d prefer that the number drop from the $319 million he said New York spent on players in 2025.
“Would it be ideal if I went down [with the payroll]? Of course,” Steinbrenner said Monday on a video call with reporters. “But does that mean that’s going to happen? Of course not. We want to field a team we know could win a championship — or we believe could win a championship.”
“We can talk before [Cashman] goes into [the] winter meetings about a range,” Steinbrenner said. “But because it’s a fluid situation, that range can go bye-bye in two seconds if there’s a deal that arises that I feel would be very beneficial to some area of need that we have.”
I don’t think that indicates a mandate to lower the payroll. I’m a business owner. If I can maintain or improve my competitive edge AND lower my expenses them of course that would be ideal. That can be accomplished if guys like Dominguez, Rice, Wells, Volpe, Gil, Schlittler, etc can hold down positions at a high level and help to offset the more expensive players at other positions. It shouldn’t be construed that they are adverse to repurposing or adding money to the payroll. But it is wiser to use the money to address major needs vs upgrading, for example, a “Jazz” to a “Bichette”. I would argue tho, upgrading from a “McMahon” to a “Bregman” or sliding Jazz to 3b (if he agreed to do so as part of an extension) and then signing Bichette to play 2B and trading McMahon would be a nice fantasy. It would settle the need for a RH bat and cut down on the ks.
They can also sign Okamoto who would also cut down on their K’s, and be a right handed bat to the lefties of Rice and McMahon.
Well don’t let his answer stop you from getting additional players, Cashman!
Fingers crossed on this.
Whatever the offer, it’s going to be shopped. Yankees already have several huge contracts on their books, and Bellinger is going to be overpaid. For 2027, they have Judge, Cole, Rodon, Fried, McMahon for $176M before another dime is spent. Adding Bellinger is….
Or adding Bichette. Good player, but it’s hard to see the Yankees being serious about signing him.
The Yankees were one of the teams linked to Imai when he was a free agent, but both Heyman and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com wrote after the signing that the Yanks were not seriously involved in the bidding.
What a joke.
How much of those rumors were real and how much the usual Bora$ malarkey by his mouthpiece?
I see Nick Castellanos in their future
expect him to be back in Bronx. After losing Soto and the international draft kid to team across town, would make Cashman look awful if he leaves
I didn’t realize his Home/Away splits were so severe last year:
.302/.365/.544/.909, 147 OPS+ at home
.241/.301/.414/.715, 101 OPS+ away
Buyer beware, I guess.
Bellinger/Yankees reminds me of the JD Martinez/Red Sox contract negotiations.
That contract was protracted due to JD’s lingering foot injury. But the match was perfect at the time; DH only in the AL, Big Papi was gone. Everyone knew a deal would get done but ULTIMATELY it was all about the money.
Belli fits perfectly with NYY but not necessarily with other teams, lessening his leverage. I predict 4 years/$25M AAV; MLBTR predicted 5 years/$140M but they were way wrong on Imai and I think here too.
Rockies should sign him to a 2 year 60-65 deal with an opt out, overpay, hope the production is there and flip at the deadline.
Unless the AAV is around $18-20M per year for a max of 4 or 5 years, the Yankees are going to be eating a significant amount of bad years on that contract. He’s most likely going to age well through 34 and then fall off from there. I’d be staying away from him but the Yankees love wasting payroll.
Angels offering more money he’s not sure yet
I am worried they will overpay but
If they sign him, I hope they trade Grisham
I’m curious, MLBTR, are the Cubs signing Hunter Harvey? I think we’re due for another article about that.
I’m hoping no more than 4 years at 25m per $100m. Anything more is negotiating against yourself. If Bellinger has a 5 year offer let him take that but I don’t think he does. He needs to decide soon or the Yanks can shift gears and trade Jazz and then sign Bichette and maybe trade for Hoerner to play SS. That’s the most ideal move other than trading Jazz and then trading for Donovan and Hoerner. Jazz has too much swing and miss and is going to want a huge payday which the Yanks will pass on.