The Yankees are buying first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger from the Cubs, experiences Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Cubs additionally ship money to the Yanks and obtain right-hander Cody Poteet. Per Jack Curry of YES Community, it’s $5MM going to the Yankees. Per Jesse Rogers of ESPN, that’ll be $2.5MM this 12 months and $2.5MM subsequent 12 months. The second $2.5MM will go in direction of both his buyout or his 2026 wage, relying on his opt-out resolution, per Passan. Bob Nightengale of USA At present experiences that Bellinger has been informed he’ll be taking part in heart area for the Yanks.
Bellinger heading to the Bronx is a logical match and it has been in loads of rumors lately. At the beginning of the offseason, the Yankees misplaced Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo and Anthony Rizzo to free company, opening up two holes of their outfield and one at first base. Since Bellinger has performed each the outfield and at first, he was seen as a doable match for his or her 2025 plans in numerous methods. The Yanks pursued Soto for a very long time however he ultimately landed with the Mets, pushing the Yankees to a number of backup plans. They’ve since signed left-hander Max Fried and purchased right-hander Devin Williams to improve their rotation and bullpen.
For the Cubs, Bellinger has appeared expendable for a number of causes. On the one hand, Pete Crow-Armstrong emerged as a viable glove-first heart fielder in 2024, which was Bellinger’s main spot the 12 months earlier than. Michael Busch additionally took over the primary base spot. With Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki within the outfield corners, Bellinger was a bit squeezed. The Cubs solely compounded the issue after they acquired Kyle Tucker from the Astros.
Nevertheless, past the roster crunch, the Cubs have been additionally possible motivated to maneuver Bellinger attributable to his decline in efficiency. After some tough years with the Dodgers whereas recovering from shoulder surgical procedure, the Cubs took a bounceback flier on Bellinger in 2023. After being non-tendered by the Dodgers, the Cubs gave Bellinger a $17.5MM assure on a one-year pact, hoping he may recover from his damage woes and return to being the participant that received Most Useful Participant in 2019.
He didn’t get all the way in which again to that stage however was nonetheless nice worth for that funding. He stole 20 bases and hit 26 house runs. He solely struck out 15.6% of the time. The defensive critiques of his heart area protection have been combined however have been largely near league common. He additionally moved to first base from time to time. He slashed .307/.356/.525 for a 136 wRC+ and produced 4.4 wins above alternative, within the eyes of FanGraphs.
Maybe the Cubs would have been comfortable to stroll away at that time. They gave Bellinger a qualifying provide and didn’t appear to have a really excessive motivation to re-sign him, however nor did some other golf equipment, as Bellinger remained unsigned by way of late February. Ultimately, he and the Cubs agreed to a three-year, $80MM take care of opt-outs after every season.
On that type of deal, the perfect case state of affairs for the membership is that the participant performs nicely after which opts out. If the participant doesn’t choose out, it means he doesn’t like his prospects in free company, which possible means he bought damage or underperformed.
Bellinger’s manufacturing did certainly slip relative to 2023, although it wasn’t disastrous. He stole 9 bases and hit 19 house runs. His strikeout fee held regular at 15.6%. He slashed .266/.325/.426 for a wRC+ of 109. His heart area protection was nonetheless graded as round league common however he spent much less time there as a result of aforementioned emergence of Crow-Armstrong. He produced 2.2 fWAR, half of the 12 months earlier than.
Going into the offseason, it was a borderline name as as to if Bellinger would choose out or not. He may have taken the $2.5MM buyout and brought his possibilities, leaving a $52.5MM assure on the desk. Whereas he could have been in a position to beat the $50MM distinction this winter, he determined to remain, maybe as a result of manner the present contract is allotted. He’ll make $27.5MM in 2025 with a $5MM buyout on his $25MM for 2026. There’s a best-case state of affairs for him personally the place he performs higher in 2025 after which takes the second opt-out, returning to the open market with larger incomes energy, pocketing $32.5MM within the course of. He determined that was extra engaging than opting out this 12 months.
Extra to return.
