MLB

The Yankees’ margin for error with Cody Bellinger in free agency is getting smaller and smaller

ballervisions 2026年1月18日

The music hasn’t stopped, but it’s certainly nearing the final chorus in the game of musical chairs that is MLB free agency.

And while the Yankees and Cody Bellinger continue their dance through the length of the contract, what would be their two best free agent pivots if they couldn’t find something similar with Bellinger no longer on the board.

With Kyle Tucker getting a four-year, $240 million contract with the Dodgers and Bo Bichette headed to Queens for a three-year, $126 million deal, the Yankees’ options for a power bat beyond Bellinger are dwindling — and they’re not plentiful on the trade market, either — increasing the pressure to finally secure a reunion with their most important first baseman.

The Yankees are believed to be offering Bellinger five years and $155 million, though the 30-year-old’s camp still wants seven years. Now that Tucker and Bichette have agreed to work together elsewhere, Bellinger’s market should be more defined, with the left-handed hitter becoming the clear hitter available in free agency — and by a decent margin, third baseman Eugenio Suárez is the next best hitter.

There was a feeling that Bellinger might wait for Tucker to sign so that the teams that missed out on the former Astro and Cub could increase the market for the former Yankee, Cub and Dodger. Outside of the Dodgers, the Mets and Blue Jays have been the hardest hit teams for Tucker, and while the Mets re-signed Bichette — whom the Phillies were trying to bring back — to another short-term deal, they still have a need in the outfield.

Cody Bellinger #35 of the New York Yankees reacts after hitting a single during the first inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

So the Yankees’ competition for Bellinger will now include the Mets, Blue Jays and Giants, with perhaps the Phillies also in play, though they responded to the loss of Bichette by re-signing catcher JT Realmuto to a three-year, $45 million deal.

The Blue Jays have offered Tucker a ten-year, $350 million contract, The Post’s Jon Heyman reports. Tucker is a year and a half younger and a consistent hitter, but can they give some of that money and age to Bellinger? Besides, it would be two for the price of one by keeping him away from their AL East rivals, who are always saying how much they want to bring him back.

The Mets had offered Tucker four years and $220 million, per Heyman. They’ve been loathe to offer long-term deals to veteran players, but could a short-term deal with a higher average annual value than the one the Yankees are offering be something Bellinger would consider? The Mets could certainly use him, with their current projected outfield consisting of Juan Soto in right, Tyrone Taylor in center, and rookie Carson Benge in left. And Scott Boras, Bellinger’s agent, is just over a year removed from his client (who was Soto at the time) in a bidding war between two New York teams.

For now, the Yankees have held on to their five-year offer for Bellinger, being careful all winter not to make a bid themselves. But their margin of error is small.

Brian Cashman has always said they could enter the spring with a competition in left field between Jason Domínguez and Spencer Jones. And if they end up losing Bellinger, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them add a right-handed hitter — someone like Austin Hays — to build a team that could feature Domínguez, the best left-side changeup hitter.

But such a situation would still leave them with a huge hole in their lineup, given the threat Bellinger was behind Aaron Judge for most of last season, and remove a valuable, versatile and reliable quarterback from their lineup. All of this, of course, is why he was a must for the Yankees from the start, as long as it came at a price and time they were comfortable with.