Jul 22, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Yankees left fielder Cody Bellinger (35) reacts after hitting a double against the Toronto Blue Jays in the third inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Yankees' Cody Bellinger Beating Juan Soto in Key Stat

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Erin Shapland | Last updated Jul 23, 2025 7:00 AM ET

New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger is having a stellar season, and he's still heating up. According to one key metric, Bellinger is now outperforming even former Yankees player Juan Soto, who departed the Yankees late last year.

Bellinger has now accumulated more fWAR than Soto — with 3.3 to Soto's 3.0.

Soto has been under particular scrutiny this season following his decision to leave the Yankees and sign a record-breaking contract with the New York Mets. The Yankees acquired Bellinger earlier this year on an $80 million contract for three years. He had previously played for the Chicago Cubs, who traded him to the Yankees in December of 2024 with $5 million in cash considerations in exchange for pitcher Cody Poteet.

Bellinger was selected in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he made his MLB debut in 2017 and played until 2022. He was the NL MVP in 2019 while playing for the Dodgers.

This season, Bellinger recorded his first three-homer game against the Cubs on July 11, driving in two runs with each and contributing mightily to the Yankees' 11-0 shutout win. In his last 26 games, Bellinger has a .369 batting average with 9 home runs and 21 RBIs. He is now tied for second-most home runs on the Yankees roster this season; he and Jazz Chisholm each have 18.

When asked whether he was more proud of his offensive or defensive performance in Tuesday's win against the Toronto Blue Jays, Bellinger instead offered praise to the team on the whole.

"I think a little bit of both," Bellinger said. "Ultimately for me, I thought Schlittler was out there pitching really well against a really tough lineup so I just wanted to make a play for him and offensively I think we did a good job. Ben Rice's huge homer got the momentum back on our side, it was just a really good win."

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