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.
Lol. Unless of course some team offers him five years 150 million then it would not be in his best interest to stay in the Bronx.
If it’s your final contract the numbers you post don’t matter
Damn that’s cynical.
Players typically see the ball better in their home park because they see more pitches there than at any other individual park.
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.
Why?
@Sal- so furious with the Yankees right now. We really never know what to expect with them. No worries, definitely thinking Belli stays. He wants to be a Yankee.
No more than 3-4 years though. 4 is a stretch, it won’t age well.
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.
Absolutely not! Schwarber is consistent and Belli is not.
I honestly would rather have Belli over the DH only Schwarber. Belli is 40 points higher in career BA plus provides great defense. He can play any outfield position well and fill in at 1B. Especially in NY with the shorter fence and slight jet stream out.
Schwarber has a higher career ops I don’t care about beli’s avg.
While i was hoping the Mets could get Bellinger for 3/$100m (assuming a bit higher AAV to go 3yr), 4/$120m to 5/$150m was more likely after Alonso got $150m.
Schwarber is/was the safest bet of the three at that $$. Dude rakes as a DH and he’s a great leadoff guy. Bellinger at 5yr is the biggest risk. Alonso will decline, but I don’t think he falls off of a cliff.
@Knicks- You mean Hal’s $???
Not sure what difference it makes. He can also drive up the offer by getting others to offer first and if they wind up being the highest they can always say the offer was then and is now no longer on the table.
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
@Mengis2 Cronenworth is 4 years older than Jazz, but that’s the only thing you’re correct on. Jazz is not two times the player Cronenworth by a long shot. I would argue Jazz is a better player, but it’s a lot closer than you think. Why would the Yankees make this deal? As I said, in this hypothetical situation, they signed Bo Bichette so they have him at second and McMahon at third. Jazz is a free agent after this year and not very durable as he’s has spent much time on the injured list. Cronenworth has been fairly healthy for his career and would be a valuable utility guy to have for the Yanks. He would be more valuable than Jazz in this scenario because Cronenworth can play every infield position well including 1st base and short where the Yanks lack much depth. Cronenworth comes on a affordable contract for the Yanks where they can use him all over the field and they get prospects they can use in another trade or for the future. So to recap, the Yanks get an affordable utility guy on an affordable contract for the next 4 years plus some prospect capital for a guy that is eligible for free agency at the end of the year and they would have no position for in this scenario. Now for the Padres they get out of the Cronenworth contract, take a flier on Jazz for the year to have a contract year before free agency,and hope they can get a draft pick for him when he leaves, plus be able to have the money they save on Cronenworth’s contract to use on the rest of the roster. So again, a win for the Padres. So to recap, it’s a win win situation for both teams just as they did when they made the Soto trade. And for the last time, this would only be something I could POSSIBLY see IF the Yankees were to sign Bichette and have no room for Jazz. I mean I broke it down Barney style so if you still don’t get it that’s on you.
Cronenworth’s bat probably plays up at Yankee Stadium.
With the level Jazz produces at vs his salary, and given Hal’s self imposed budget restraints, he is way to valuable to trade. This “trade Jazz” nonsense is just that, nonsense. You open up a 30/30 size hole in the offense, an offense that without Bellinger is already ugly at the 7-8-9 slots.
If you sign Bichette, keep Jazz, have them up the middle for 2026 and have Bo move over to 2nd when Jazz leaves.
This could have been boiled down to one line: he’s versatile and cheaper. Barney sez: Yankees have guys like that. You say they have no depth up the middle but they have Caballero and Oswaldo.. Not as good but cheaper, as you readily admit the padres want to get out of his contract.. Cronenworth isn’t good enough on his own to trade Jazz for.. Even for a rental Jazz would command quite a bit more. If the yankees get Bichette (they won’t; pretty obvious they’re doing nothing), they’re dealing from strength and wouldn’t have to settle for Cronenworth
The flaw is that the Yankees have not signed Bichette to play 2B. This trade would leave the Yankees with no middle infield. Volpe is hurt. They would have backups playing 2B and SS. Not anything a contender would do. Come back after Bichette signs.
Jazz is FOUR times the player Cronenworth is. Preller overpaid him on his extension and now they’re stuck with him.
I said Jazz was only two times the player, but that works for me
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.
There’s no way the Yankees are trading Jazz for Cronenworth contract and 3 meh prospects! If Jazz is getting traded it’s for immediate help to the roster or substantially strong prospects he can flip for a Nico Hoerner rh bat leadoff hitter.
@billysbballz Who said said 3 meh prospects? I just said 3 lower level prospects or a couple of decent prospects. Padre prospects are like gold. If you gathered all the prospects that Preller has traded away over the last 5 years, you could literally make a 40 man roster out of it. No other team could say that. The trade does make the Yankees better because they get some prospects they can use to trade for another part of the roster and they get a decent utility guy that can handle short on a reasonable contract. It helps the Padres immediately because they get the salary relief and a guy they can plug in right away, plus they get a draft pick after he leaves in free agency the following year. Plus the salary relief allows them to use that money on the rest of the roster. It’s literally a win win for both teams. But again, I said it’s still a stretch from happening, but I COULD see it happening because that’s the type of trade Preller has been doing.
Lower level prospects = meh prospects
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.
@Bill On the flip, I can’t see Cashman making that one.
@Salzilla I could see Cashman making this trade only if he were able to get Bichette. If he doesn’t get Bichette then I agree I don’t think he would make this trade because then it wouldn’t make sense to do so.
Why would the Yankees do all that? They won’t even get marginally better afterwards. Thinking they keep Jazz and pivot to beefing up 3B instead.
@Jarred Kelenic’s Beer can
Because they get something for Jazz instead of nothing. They get a solid utility guy in Cronenworth who helps the team immediately and is more durable then Jazz plus they get prospects they can use to flip to help elsewhere on the roster. Padre prospects are like gold. Over the last 5 years you could literally make a 40 man roster of all the prospects they’ve traded away. This exactly why Cashman would make this trade. But like I said, it’s still probably a long shot but I could still see a trade like this happening.
Jazz is gonna make about the same in 2026 as cronenworth. The padres would save nothing this year making this trade.
Jazz’s numbers would go down playing in petco. To the point where he is likely not worth QO’ing.
The Yankees can just play bichette at short for a year then move him to second in 2027.
Plus cronenworth is the only backup to Xander at short if he got hurt.
Outside of saving future money there is no reason the padres would do this trade, especially having to add prospects.
This is not the type of trade Preller makes at all.
Why would the Yankees want a $12mm utility player? Willi Castro is an affordable option in FA. Slightly less defense but more speed.
They wouldn’t. You don’t trade for a 12m a year for 5 years utility backup.
I would love to see that but they won’t because nobody is taking McMahon’s $16 million off of our hands. That was a dumb move. The guy k’d 189 times last year and his ops outside of Coors is unplayable.
That leaves a platoon option but we already have Rosario and Caballero. 3rd base is set with a no-bat player. It was set the moment Cashman acquired McMahon because no other team would do so.
For the reasons you state is why I want the Yankees to sign Okamoto
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.
Knicks – This part cracks me up: “We want to field a team we know could win a championship — or we believe could win a championship”.
Knowing they could win a championship and believing they could win a championship are the exact same thing.
I know I can bowl a 200, which means I believe I can bowl a 200.
Well, they DON’T know this team can win a championship until it does so, but they do believe that it can win one.
Also, I believe he was just correcting himself, but I don’t know that for sure.
nwwh – He said “could” win, not “will” win …. which means capable of winning a championship, not necessarily actually winning a championship.
They could put together a championship caliber team, but not win a championship because of major injuries etc.
Youre going to be soooo disappointed by the end of the offseason. Well actually, you’ll just move the goal posts and cope about how actually it was so smart they got no significant additions to the team
Going from Jazz to Bo would not be an upgrade though.
Well don’t let his answer stop you from getting additional players, Cashman!
Fingers crossed on this.
As much as I wanna blame Cashman, he’s staying. Not signing Imai and Fairbanks is all Hal. If Grisham left rejecting the QO , thinking things would of definitely been different.
Grisham is a one year deal. Really should have no effect on what the Yankees spend. He is their best center fielder on the team and that includes any of these free agents.
The bigger question in my eyes is what they want to do in left. They have two young guys in Dominguez and Jones the could run out there. At some point they need to play them or trade them.
If they decide to play them then signing Bichette is a good move. He would be a major upgrade for them at short even with his defensive shortcomings. They could always move him off short at anytime as well. He is also years younger than Bellinger.
None of these dudes is going to protect Judge because judge is in a league of his own. In a tight spot do I walk judge to face bellinger or Bichette? The answer is still always going to be yes.
Now if they want to return to the evil empire they would sign both Bichette and bellinger/tucker.
See i disagree here, 99. I highly doubt that QO was made with zero plan if Trent accepted it. That’s just not how professionals work. There’s plans for all scenarios. Also, as Simm says above Trent coming back isn’t bad, it’s a one year deal and gives a center fielder who hit 36 homers last year!
And Hal wasn’t as tight with the money aspect as everyone thinks anyway. Heck, Knicks posted it above. Let’s stop at this notion that they’re being cheap. They’re already spending a ton, we can argue how that money is spent, but cheap isn’t it. If we get Bellinger back we’re at 2025 full strength with lots of reinforcements coming from within. More and more I’m starting to think not overspending this offseason isn’t the worst.
except the team is always built to be carried by judge, and he’s not getting any younger, he’s not gonna be winning MVPs every single year he’s already 34 and the lockout is next year so if they don’t do it this year going all in which they apparently or not in 20 27, the window may be closed. and it could be a long fallowperiod after that. they can’t be so stupid that they didn’t think of this. They just don’t care judge like everything else is just a business decision to them. they don’t care if he wins a championship or they do. as long as they’re making money, but they’re not going to be if the team falls into fourth or fifth place and it could happen where the rest of the division is getting better.
It’s not that cynical. Judge is a great player, but you you can only do what you can and no they shouldn’t hamper their team further by laying out more terrible deals just to get guys that “could” get us there. Nothing is guaranteed. And remember we were down our ace last year and still made it pretty far. No one is handing the other AL East teams their spots, that’s why they play. It ain’t over till it’s over.
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.
A lot better player than Bellinger.
Bellinger had 5.1 bWar last year. Bichette 3.5. In what world is the overrated Bichette a lot better than Bellinger?
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 watched a bit of NPB last year while I was up there. The atmosphere and passion is amazing, I highly recommend it. The ball is a bit dead, so pitchers ERAs appear a bit better than what they would be with a MLB ball. I wish him all the best but I don’t think he’s someone you would get upset about missing out on TBH.
Not true….Jack Curry right from the start stated the Yankees were NOT IN on Imai….and we think he knows a lot better than you what is really going on in the organization….
Second that; I was just about to say the same thing. Even Andy Martino knew better than those two.
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.
He’s built for that Yankee short porch in right field.
Probably why he’s being viewed with some caution.
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.
I agree, I don’t think anything longer than 3 years will age well.
You said it, all about the money.
Fangraphs has Bellinger in the 5/$125m-135m range. With contracts for 2+ fWAR players now running in the $10m / win range, it’s hardly unlikely he’ll give you 12-14 wins over the next 5 seasons. He’s been worth 11.4 fWAR for 2023-2025.
One article of faith with baseball contracts is that is you “want” a player at $4/100m and that’s all you’re willing to pay, you’re never going to sign him—particularly if he’s turning 30, is defensively versatile at weak positions (1B and LF are remarkably bad across much of MLB), and had put up a 4 and 5 fWAR seasons in the last three years.
That’s not a star, but it’s close, and moves a .500 team into postseason range. That’s worth the extra year.
Put another way, people seem willing to pay Kyle Tucker $400m and for 2023-2025 he’s put up 13.4 fWAR. He’s just one year younger than Bellinger and has averaged 0.7 fWAR more per season in the only years that matter for the purpose of projecting future performance.
In that light, Bellinger at 5/130m looks like a steal.
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.
I appreciate your use of sarcasm.
If only it was sarcasm my hated rival
So you’re saying one of the premier free agents should go to the team with the worst record last year, after being two outs from winning the world series with the team that would like to resign him?
I’m not your hated rival. Reality is.
Hence the overpay and the strategy of the mid year flip to a contender. In the perfect scenario he rakes, he builds trade value, has the opt out and can hopefully sign for the 5-6 years he wants early before the labor freeze.
If I were him I would rather make a little less and have more control of my eventually destination.
Unless playing for the Rockies was a sentimental thing for the family.
Couldn’t edit my previous post.
Disregard the second part of the post.
So you think players think like fans. To them its a business. If the $$$ are there, they will sign. They only have 5 years after reaching FA to get their nest egg, if that long. Once they reach 32-33, contracts start dropping in dollars and length.
I don’t think it would be sentimental. It would offer him the chance of betting on himself. He won’t have protection in the line up, pitchers will have to throw to him or bypass. The OBP crowd can go nuts, he’s on 1st a lot, can swipe bags. I know these are superficial stat points, but this is just the kind of move the Rockies should make to build the farm. It will cost much more than other teams need to offer but any contract is a risk on both sides regardless.
He’ll certainly go there if they make the best offer. Bryant had no problem signing there.
You’re one of the very few who would rather make a little less.
I think players think like people, agents think like people, front offices think like people. I’m not saying this is a likely scenario for a myriad of reasons. I’m saying this could make sense for a myriad of reasons.
That’s assuming the Rockies would have that amount of foresight, or could actually meet the terms Bellinger would have in order to wave the no-trade clause he’ll likely have as leverage, or that they would even want to trade him to whomever is contending enough to want him. A lot of “perfect” would have to be in play for the scenario you present; in light of that, how is that better than anything the Yanks would offer or negotiate up front?
No trades generally don’t happen on 1 year guarantee. The appeal is the money, that’s it. Like I stated before, it’s a bet on yourself.
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.
What do you mean brother? They’ve got a hugely successful track record signing older players, e.g. Ellsbury, LeMahieu, Stroman, Hicks.
@kiwimlbfan
Oh, right. I’m extremely old (almost 200 years), so I forgot things from time to time…
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
As Grisham was a FA, they can’t trade him until mid season.
Please provide a link to prove that.
He accepted the QO. He was never a free agent that signed with another team
I’m curious, MLBTR, are the Cubs signing Hunter Harvey? I think we’re due for another article about that.
Tell me about it. Every time I load the page it’s one of the top articles. Again.
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.
Jazz is an excellent player. A 30/30 player and everyone is saying they need to trade him. Most 30-homer guys have a lot of swing-and-miss in their profile today. It’s not the deadball era anymore, but the launch-angle era.
So how was Imai “linked” to the Yankees? Because sutes like this repeat gossip whether or not it has any merit? I assume “linked” means someone (Heyman) looking for clicks posted somewhere that the Yankees were “interested in” or had “checked in on” Imai. Honestly, the newspaper based hot stove league was much better.
I’d like to see Beli and Okamato. They could use him at 1st and 3rd as a platoon option. Not sure if Hal is willing to spend for both of them.
Heyman(Boras) is reporting it with zero specifics, which makes me think the offer isn’t great and Boras is trying to drum up some more interest.
Misreading Quiet for Quite can really throw one for a loop when one is an idiot.
I think the unknown offer is 3/120. My Guess
Given how the market works in terms of competitive offers getting bandied about and a guy like Boras playing teams off each other in public and even more so in private, I think this makes sense:
The Yankees had a number in mind. Lets say it was 5 years/$135M and they were prepared to go up to 5 years/$150M but wanted to avoid it if possible. They encourage Boras and Bellinger to go field other offers and see what’s out there- maybe nothing’s out there, maybe equivalent offers are.
Boras comes back and says “if you can match this or exceed that, Bellinger will sign with you guys.” Then the Yankees decided if they want to go an extra mile to get Bellinger based on those parameters or if they want to draw a line in the sand that is competitive but not bidding against themselves and then they make their best and final offer based on the market.
I think they wanted to keep him for 5 years/$135M but Boras said if they match 5 years/$145M or something he might stay, so they did that. Maybe went to 6 years/$165M.
Yankees called and Spicoli responded hey bud, let’s party
trade Lindor to Yanks for Jazz!
It’s such a pathetic strategy year after year to anticipate rotating outfielders when Stanton goes on the IR. The cost with minimal return make this contract one of the worst of all time.
He sure was hitting good last year when he was in there, though.
I enjoyed Belli as a Yankee, but 5 years/$125m is tops of what I’d offer. Boras putting 8 year/$300m out there is ludicrous.
If Yankees are not willing to spend 5 years and $150 million for Belli, then they will not do ten years and $300 million for Tucker.
Maybe it is time to sit down with Aaron Judge and see if he is willing to waive his no-trade clause? Without adding another bat, Yankees will be weaker than last year while Blue Jays and Dodgers have made additions to become stronger.
Seriously, I know that Judge is not going anywhere, but without another bat, Yankees are just playing for a wild card and hoping for a lot of luck in postseason.
Makes no sense for Bellinger to leave NY given the joke stadium.
Yankees should heavily go after Bichette move to 2B and trade a player to bring in an OF
Belli is a soft hitter and his away stats are bothersome.
Jon Heyman is Scott Boras’ propagandist.
Yankees should trade jazz, sign bellinger and bichette. play bellinger at first so lineup looks like this:
c-rice
1b-bellinger
2b-bichette
ss-volpe
3b-mcmahon
of-judge
grisham
jones
dh-stanton
They dont hit in playoff
The Yankees are NULLS in playoff,,nobody hit
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.
This is probably the most meaningless paragraph in the history of this site.
Somebody did something but we don’t know what it is that they did.
Somebody made an offer on the house! How much? Dunno.
Somebody was speeding on the highway! How fast? Dunno.
Somebody is performing surgery on you! Where? Dunno.
i’d like to know what kind of an offer it is, is it a serious offer or are they underballing him again, just so they can say to the public they did something