Yankees GM Sends Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger Message Amid MLB Free Agency

"We'd love to have Bellinger back. I talked to [his agent] Scott Boras yesterday about Belli and other free agents of his," he said. "I talked to Casey Close today about his free agents, he's got Kyle Tucker amongst others. That's the nature of the beast in the winter. You play it out, talk to different teams. I had several conversations with teams today. Try to find a way to either make a trade or add a free agent and keep going..."

"The team that we had last year, which was really good on paper, but fell short of our ultimate goal, is now depleted because of free agency," he continued. "So we gotta find a way to at least get back to where we were, but the ultimate goal is to make it better. We've got a lot more work to do, and the whole winter to do it."

Should Yankees Prioritize Cody Bellinger or Kyle Tucker?

New York acquired Bellinger from the Chicago Cubs on Dec. 17, four days after the latter club acquired Tucker from the Houston Astros, per Spotrac. Tucker slashed .266/.377/.464 with 22 homers and 73 RBIs over 136 games in 2025.

Both players are two of MLB's best outfielders, but Tucker will likely be more expensive. The 28-year-old's market value is 10 years, $401.7 million ($40.2 million average annual salary), while Bellinger's is six years, $182.6 million ($30.4 million average), per Spotrac.

Tucker is a year-and-a-half younger, but it would be risky for New York to pay him that much more than Bellinger considering that the latter player is coming off a better season and is already comfortable playing in the Bronx. Tucker could succeed with the Yankees too, but players like Joey Gallo and Devin Williams have struggled in their high-pressure environment after performing well on other teams.