For the second straight offseason, the New York Yankees are trying to keep a key outfielder in town. The New York Post‘s Jon Heyman reports that the Yankees have made an offer to Cody Bellinger, with no specifics on what the offer was.
New York acquired Bellinger from the Chicago Cubs last offseason for Cody Poteet. They had lost Juan Soto to their crosstown rivals, and the Cubs made a splash for Kyle Tucker. With a clear need to address left field, the Yankees quickly swung a deal to pick up Bellinger from Chicago.
That move greatly paid off for the Yankees, as Bellinger posted his best season since his 2019 National League MVP campaign. In 152 games, he slashed .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs, 98 RBI, and a 125 OPS+. Baseball Reference evaluated him at 5.1 wins above replacement, the highest since the 8.7 he posted in 2019.
Coming off the strong season, he opted out of the final year of his contract to hit the open market.
MLB Trade Rumors predicts that Bellinger will sign a five-year, $140 million contract. Three of their four writers predict that he’ll re-sign with the Yankees, with Anthony Franco choosing the Rangers as the lone dissenter. The median crowd-sourced prediction on FanGraphs’ free agent tracker has him landing a five-year, $135 million deal.
Why Cody Bellinger Would Re-Sign with the Yankees
Back in November, Heyman reported that Bellinger wants to play with a winner. The Yankees have made the postseason in each of the past two seasons, going to the World Series in 2024 and the NLDS in 2025. The only team that’s had more postseason success is the Los Angeles Dodgers, his former club from 2017-22.
Another factor to consider is his success at Yankee Stadium. The park dimensions align well with Bellinger’s approach of pulling balls in the air to right field (24.7% rate). Because it’s only 314 feet down the right field line with a short fence, that approach will yield more home runs.
It also explains the severe home and road splits for the Yankees outfielder. At Yankee Stadium, he carried a .302/.365/.554 slash with 18 home runs. On the road, it drops to .241/.301/.414.
On top of providing a left-handed power bat to behind 2025 American League MVP Aaron Judge, he is also a strong defender in the outfield. In 2025, Bellinger was credited with +12 defensive runs saved and +9 fielding run value. His all-around value helped the Yankees reach the ALDS, where they lost to the eventual AL champion Toronto Blue Jays in four games.
Who Else is Pursuing Cody Bellinger?
While the Yankees should make Bellinger their priority to re-sign, they’re not the only team pursuing him. The Mets, Blue Jays, Dodgers, and Giants have been linked to the free agent outfielder this offseason.
It will be interesting to see if Bellinger waits for Tucker to sign. The former Astros and Cubs outfielder has a stronger market, and teams that miss out could turn to Bellinger as a consolation prize. Should he experience a cold market like in 2024, the Dodgers and Giants could become bigger threats to poach him on a short-term deal.
After losing Juan Soto to the Mets last offseason, watching Cody Bellinger leave would sting even harder. With the rest of the division extremely active this winter, Yankees fans could become even more impatient if they lose another key hitter.
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