The New York Yankees could see Cody Bellinger playing for another team in 2026.
New York acquired Bellinger from the Chicago Cubs in a cap dump move from the Cubs. In his lone year in the Bronx, Bellinger had a ton of success and fit the team nicely.
Yet, the star hitter is a free agent, and MLB insider Jon Heyman of The New York Post believes Trent Grisham accepting the Yankees $22.05 million qualifying offer could hinder New York re-signing Bellinger.
“I think there were some Yankees people somewhat surprised by this decision, not going to say all of them, I think,” Heyman said. “Several understood this was a realistic possibility. Grisham had a fantastic season, so you can’t knock him in any sense, he had 34 home runs, 21 of those came on the road. …
“Does this affect their ability to sign Cody Bellinger? I mean, that is the big question right now. It certainly doesn’t affect their ability to pursue Cody Bellinger, and they will pursue Cody Bellinger and hope to sign him. But if they have Cody Bellinger, who’s presumably going to make around $30 million, plus $22 million for Grisham. How much money does that leave for the bullpen, for maybe an extra starter? We don’t believe they want to go over $300 million. … Does it affect their ability to sign Cody Bellinger? We shall see.”
As Heyman notes, the Yankees still need to add to the bullpen and another starter. So perhaps New York won’t have the money to re-sign Bellinger, which would be a big blow to the Yankees’ lineup.
What is Bellinger Expected to Get in Free Agency?
Bellinger will be in line to get a massive payday this offseason.
The star outfielder had a great season with the Yankees and will cash in in free agency. MLBTradeRumors predicts Bellinger will sign a five-year, $140 million deal.
“Bellinger didn’t get the colossal long-term deal he and the Boras Corporation surely sought coming off his original 2023 rebound season with the Cubs, but it was a no-brainer for him to opt out of the final season of his current deal when it was a net $20MM decision,” the article read.
“Bellinger, who cannot receive a qualifying offer after receiving one earlier in his career, has already banked $77MM since being non-tendered by the Dodgers, and he’s now firmly in position to get the nine-figure deal that eluded him in the 2023-24 offseason.”
The 30-year-old hit .272 with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs with the Yankees last season.
Yankees Want to Bring Back Bellinger
After a solid first season in New York, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is hopeful Bellinger will return to the Bronx.
Ahead of free agency, Cashman made it clear that the Yankees will be trying to bring Bellinger back.
“He was a terrific addition for us last year,” Cashman said. “He played a big role in the amount of success we wound up having. Certainly, we’d love to have him come back to us. We’d be better served if we can retain him. But if not, then we’ll have to look at alternative ways to fill it and see where that takes us. It’s pretty early in the process. But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Of course we’d like to have him back.”
Bellinger is a two-time MLB All-Star and was the NL MVP in 2019.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Yankees Get Bad News on Potential Return of Cody Bellinger appeared first on Heavy Sports.