Cody Bellinger Finally Re-Signs With The Yankees

If the Yankees didn’t bring back Bellinger, they would have to rely on their young outfielders such as Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones. Both of these players come with their flaws, as Dominguez was horrendous against left-handed pitching and defensively this past season. In terms of Jones, he had an alarming 41.4% strikeout rate in 67 Triple-A games in 2025 and comes with legit zone-contact, whiff, chase, and strikeout issues.

On the other hand, Dominguez was really good against right-handed pitching at the major league level, outstanding on the basepaths, and was easily one of the team’s fastest players. Jones had prodigious power in the minors, even in Triple-A, as he hit 19 home runs in those 67 games. This is also a player who runs well for his 6’7 frame and is already heralded as a good defender in at least the corners.

Now you see why New York at points seemed desperate in retaining Bellinger’s services and even giving him multiple opt-outs and a no-trade clause. This is a guy who’s excellent defensively, great against left-handed pitching, and he’s handled all three big market teams that he’s played in, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and now New York.

Aaron Judge also isn’t getting any younger by the day. The time is now, and Bellinger is coming off a 125 Weighted Runs Created+ and 4.9 Fangraphs Wins Above Replacement Season alongside him.

Bellinger is a nice third option in my opinion, who at points can be the robin, which could also be Ben Rice, and you can’t ever rule out Giancarlo Stanton, either. It really helps that Bellinger rarely strikes out, puts the ball in play, can play a multitude of different positions, and has an infectious energy as well.

The Concerns With Bellinger

The Yankees will have Bellinger from his age 30-35 seasons at maximum, assuming he doesn’t opt out or waive his no-trade clause to head elsewhere. We also have to remember his volatility that led to the Los Angeles Dodgers non-tendering Bellinger in 2022. Then, the Chicago Cubs salary-dumped him to the Yankees in 2024 for Cody Poteet, who pitched zero innings for them before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles. Even with the Orioles, Poteet only mustered 2.2 innings in 2025 with a 16.88 ERA. In this scenario, the Cubs were able to trade for Kyle Tucker and the entirety of his salary from the Houston Astros.

Bellinger was a heavy product of Yankee Stadium this past season, as it fits his swing to a tee, and the stats indicate that as well. At Yankee Stadium, he hit .302 with a .902 OPS, had 18 home runs, drove in 55 runs, and had a 152 wRC+ in 298 at-bats. On the road, Bellinger only hit .241 with a .715 OPS, 97 wRC+, drove in 43 runs, and hit 11 home runs in 290 at-bats.

Bellinger’s platoon splits were also jarring as he hit an astounding .353 with a 1.016 OPS, hit eight home runs, drove in 36 runs, and had a 180 wRC+ in his 153 at-bats against left-handed pitching in 2025. On the other hand, he only hit .244 with a .741 OPS, 105 wRC+, but hit 21 home runs and had 62 runs batted in across his 435 at-bats against right-handed pitching.

Another concern with Bellinger is his leverage statistics, as he excelled in low and medium-leverage situations with a 137 and 124 wRC+, but struggled in high-leverage situations with a 61 wRC+, according to Fangraphs.

The End Of My Cody Bellinger Rant

At the end of the day, this Bellinger move had to happen, even if at times it felt incredibly tiring and somewhat annoying to keep talking about the likely reunion between them. Bellinger and the Yankees need each other at the end of the day, and this was the perfect pairing.

In terms of the young nucleus of outfielders for New York, they have another year of fine-tuning their game before they wait until Trent Grisham’s center field job opens in 2027, and they can duke it out for that. God forbid someone gets injured in the outfield, either one of them can fill in there, or let’s say Stanton goes down as he does every single season.

Depth is a good problem to have. Jones is probably the backup center fielder on the team, so there’s a legit shot that he makes the Opening Day roster depending on the offseason and Spring Training. In Dominguez’s case, they have to trust him in center field eventually; he was abysmal in left field, and has the speed that center fielders need out there, anyway.

As the Los Angeles Dodgers President of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman once said, “If you’re always rational about every free agent, you will finish third on every free agent.” This is a prime example of that, as Bellinger is nowhere near a top-five outfielder in the sport, but is getting paid as such. The Yankees would much rather give a little extra than lose him, even with his concerns.