Cody Bellinger was fantastic in the outfield for the New York Yankees this season, but 29 other teams had access to that knowledge as well.
After making the easy choice to opt out of the final year on his old contract, originally signed with the Chicago Cubs, Bellinger hit the open market ahead of his age-30 season. He can play all three outfield positions well and first base to boot, and his 29 home runs this season were his most since winning NL Most Valuable Player in 2019 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
On Tuesday, Bellinger’s agent, Scott Boras, spoke glowingly about his client at the winter meetings in Orlando. The super-agent also insinuated that eight teams were in the hunt for the two-time All-Star, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, though some of those teams (the Cincinnati Reds, for example), haven’t shown themselves to be eager to hand out nine-figure contracts.
As if the idea of more than a quarter of the league pursuing Bellinger wasn’t enough to get the Yankees nervous about losing their second-best position player, another update on Wednesday could add to that anxiety.
According to Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media, at least one person familiar with the way Boras does business expects the Bellinger sweepstakes to drag out past the end of the calendar year, which Klapisch hinted could put New York’s brass in a difficult position.
“Another executive with a long history with Boras said Yankees fans are wasting their time looking for updates on social media every 15 minutes,” wrote Klapisch. “’This thing is going into January,’ the executive predicted of the Bellinger talks. ‘Boras is in no hurry.’
“If that’s true, the pressure will be on Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner. He has to decide how much money and time to devote to the sweepstakes.”
Teams like the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and Toronto Blue Jays all project to be among the top five payrolls in the sport this season, and all were name-dropped in Boras’ pun-filled monologue about Bellinger on Tuesday.
Much of New York’s offseason plan hinges on Bellinger’s return, as young outfielders Spencer Jones and Jasson Domínguez would project to be trade bait if the veteran stays. The longer this thing drags out, the more antsy the front office will become by necessity.
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