What a difference a year can make.
After the 2024 season, the Chicago Cubs found themselves in an uncomfortable spot with Cody Bellinger — the same player they’d once hailed as their offensive centerpiece. A year earlier, they’d rewarded the outfielder’s .307 average, 26 home runs and 97 RBIs in 2023 with a three-year, $80 million deal.
But Bellinger followed that up with a far quieter .266, 18-homer, 76-RBI campaign, and when he exercised his $27.5 million player option, the Cubs suddenly began exploring ways to move him — and the remainder of his contract. They found a taker in the New York Yankees, and all it cost them was a minor league pitcher, Cody Poteet, who Chicago would end up trading before the season began. The Cubs even threw in $5 million to make the deal more palatable for the Yankees.
Bring it back to present day, and the scenario has changed dramatically. It could also lead to a dramatic change in the Yankees’ direction.
Bounceback Season for Cody Bellinger Leads Him to Opt Out of Contract With Yankees
After rebounding with the Yankees this season, batting .272 with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs, Bellinger decided to opt out of the final year of his contract, which would have paid him $25 million. Instead, Bellinger is predicted to command one of the biggest contracts during the upcoming offseason, with the sports business site Spotrac suggesting his market value sits at six years and $182.7 million.
While the Yankees had hoped to resign Bellinger, the contract speculation has most analysts thinking the math isn’t going to work. Instead, conversation has turned to what New York may now do to replace Bellinger, and Esteban Quiñones of Pinstripes Nation suggests the Yankees explore a trade for Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan.
“Cleveland is reportedly open to fielding offers for Kwan this winter. With arbitration approaching and a crowded outfield mix, the Guardians may leverage his rising value to address other needs, such as pitching or infield depth,” Quiñones writes. “For the Yankees, Kwan represents a cost-controlled, high-contact player who fits their need for stability at the top of the lineup and in left field.”
Kwan, who earned his second career All-Star berth in 2025, batted .272 with a .330 on-base percentage, with 81 runs scored and 21 stolen bases. A Gold Glove winner in each of his first three seasons, Kwan is a finalist again this year, and on Thursday, he was named a winner of the 2025 Fielding Bible Award, which honors the best defensive players at their respective positions.
Loss of Cody Bellinger Could Spur Yankees to Pursue a Trade for Steven Kwan
Certainly, it would take a significant offer to lure Kwan away from Cleveland, especially considering that the 28-year-old remains under team control through the 2027 season. Amid rumors of Kwan’s availability near the trade deadline, reports indicated that the Guardians would demand at least one top prospect, such as outfielder Spencer Jones (No. 4 prospect). While the Yankees do not boast the greatest farm system, they do have some intriguing young pitchers, including Cade Smith, who is having an impressive run in the Arizona Fall League. Pairing Jones and Smith might get Cleveland’s attention.
But if the Yankees do shift from Bellinger to Kwan, it won’t just mark a change in roster — it’ll mark a change in philosophy. With Kwan potentially offering cost certainty in a market where star outfielders now command $25-to-$30 million per year, that difference alone could reshape New York’s priorities, giving the front office room to chase starting pitching help or stabilize the bullpen without ballooning the payroll.
For years, the Yankees have defined themselves through splashy contracts and big names. Moving to Kwan would suggest something else — a team finally embracing efficiency over extravagance, reliability over reputation.
In a way, it would be the most un-Yankee move imaginable. But as 2026 approaches, maybe that’s exactly what they need: a lineup built less on headlines and more on balance, with Kwan setting the tone at the top and the rest of the roster finally allowed to breathe.
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