It appears the reported ask from New York Yankees slugger Cody Bellinger this offseason wasn’t true at all.
MLB reporter Barry M. Bloom of Forbes reported on Thursday that Bellinger is looking for an eight-year deal worth $400 million. It would be a stunning ask for Bellinger, and it caught many by surprise.
“Bellinger is looking for an eight-year deal worth $400m, I learned. Tucker in the same neighborhood. It’s going to be a long offseason,” Bloom wrote on X.
However, a day after Bloom’s report, he walked it back after Bellinger’s agent, Scott Boras, told him that was not the figure Bellinger is looking at.
“Scott Boras said my report about Bellinger asking for $400m was “nonsense” and asked me to retract it,” Bloom wrote on X. “In immense respect to him and our decades-long relationship and despite my very credible source, consider it retracted. He didn’t give me a replacement figure.”
What Bellinger and Boras are hoping for in free agency is unknown. But, it’s clear he isn’t asking for $400 million, but how much money and the number of years is unknown at this time.
Bellinger hit .272 with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs last season with the Yankees, which could be his lone year in the Bronx.
Yankees GM Hopeful to Re-Sign Bellinger
Bellinger is one of the top free agents available, and New York remains heavily interested in bringing him back.
At the Winter Meetings, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Bellinger remains a great fit for them and is hopeful to sign the outfielder.
“Cody Bellinger would be a great fit for us,” Cashman said at the Winter Meetings. “I think he’d be a great fit for anybody. I think he’s a very talented player that can play multiple positions at a high level, and hits lefties, hits righties. He’s a contact guy, and I think our environment was a great one for him.”
The Yankees acquired Bellinger from the Chicago Cubs as a cap dump from Chicago, but Bellinger performed well in New York. His bat fit in nicely in the lineup and manager Aaron Boone is also hopeful to see Bellinger back in 2026.
“What Cody brought to us last year, in so many ways … who he was in the room, his performance in between the lines on both sides of the ball, his athleticism, his versatility, who wouldn’t want a player like that?” Boone said.
“But he’s earned the right to get to this point of his career (with) free agency, (and) he’s still a relatively young man, so we’ll see what happens and we’ll see how it shakes out, but as far as the player and the person, he’s a good one.”
Bellinger is a two-time MLB All-Star and was the NL MVP in 2019. He also won the World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.
Bellinger Likely to Cash in on Free Agency
Bellinger is one of the top free-agent bats available and should be in line for a solid payday.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel projected Bellinger to sign a six-year, $165 million deal this offseason.
“There aren’t many potential core position players in this class, but Bellinger still being young for a free agent while fitting well at four positions should give him a robust market. I see five or six years here, and I think he’ll clear $150 million,” McDaniel wrote.
MLBTradeRumors, meanwhile, predicted Bellinger would sign a five-year, $140 million deal.
Bellinger is a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner and one-time Gold Glove Award winner.
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