The Yankees have no choice but to sign Cody Bellinger this offseason, and if he isn’t drafted, they’ll have to sign either Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell.
But the Yankees never batted an eye at this, even though they gave Montgomery a chance late in the season after Gerrit Cole suffered a nerve injury in his elbow in the spring.
After all, the Yankees may have completed two of the best position trades of the offseason, at least so far, erasing any regrets they may have had over Bellinger by acquiring arguably better left-handed outfielders Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo, and may have made the best personnel decision overall by deciding to try Luis Gil in Cole’s position, as Gil is indeed a favorite to succeed Cole as both an AL All-Star starter and Cy Young Award winner.
That’s partly why the Yankees entered the weekend with the best record in the AL. It’s also partly why Bellinger, Montgomery and Snell fell far short of the length and money they were after. They were part of the Scott Boras Four (along with Matt Chapman) who had long free-agent seasons. The four ended up signing shorter, multiyear deals that gave them big salaries through 2024 and at least a chance to opt out of their contracts after this season and try again in free agency.
Player options are nothing new, but there have been a ton of them this offseason, with 14 free agents signing deals that will determine their fate at the end of the year, whether they stay with their team or return to the open market.
Of those 14, only one is certain to stay: Lucas Giolito, who had to undergo Tommy John surgery during spring training after signing a two-year, $38.5 million contract with the Red Sox and will likely need to continue rehabbing until next season, meaning he’ll have to exercise his $19 million option for 2025 to stay in Boston.
The offseason that launched the Royals into a surprise championship contender has been an overall success, but they have failed to acquire outfielder Hunter Renfroe (OPS over 60) and relief pitcher Chris Stratton (ERA 6.00). If this season ended today, their 2025 player options would likely be triggered for $7.5 million (instead of a $1 million buyout) and $4.5 million ($500,000 buyout), respectively. Of course, this season doesn’t end today. Injuries and significant fluctuations in performance (good or bad) will likely affect the decision. This is just a snapshot of these deals one-third of the way through the season.
Royals starting pitcher Michael Wacha ($16 million in 2025), Reds swingman Nick Martinez ($12 million) and Reds relief pitcher Emilio Pagan ($8 million or a $250,000 buyout) may have trouble getting their contracts paid next year but could opt out of their contracts to sign multiyear deals that could increase their totals. Padres relief pitcher Wandy Peralta has player options from 2025 through 2027 worth a total of $13.15 million.
Clayton Kershaw has a trigger that will increase the value of his 2025 option from $5 million if he returns from shoulder surgery. The Dodgers legend has been in the mix for a while, deciding year after year whether to stay with the Dodgers, return to his hometown Rangers or retire.
The most interesting cases are:
1. Bellinger has a player option with the Cubs for $27.5 million after this season (with a $2.5 million buyout) or $25 million after 2026 (with a $5 million buyout). He’s not the 2018 MVP Bellinger, but he’s proven for two straight years that he’s not the player the Dodgers didn’t offer after 2022. He’s kept his strikeouts down and is hitting well with two strikes. But the concerns the league had about his inability to hit consistently and powerfully remain, and his defense and base running have been lackluster so far.
Bellinger turns 29 next month. Is he a better overall player than Verdugo, who turned 28 two weeks ago and will be a free agent at the end of the season? Both debuted with the Dodgers in 2017. Bellinger has the best stats, while Verdugo is now one of the worst in the league.
2. Snell has a $30 million player option and $15 million in deferred rights. The left-hander enters Sunday’s game against the Yankees with a 10.42 ERA, the third-worst mark among pitchers in Baseball Reference’s wins-as-alternate rankings, and lamented the impact of missing spring training. Teams didn’t pursue the two-time Cy Young Award winner last offseason for $200 million-plus, for a variety of reasons, including his high walk count and concerns about his ability to adapt to his 30s when his elite performance is waning.
Could Snell perform similarly to what he did last year (a 1.20 ERA over his final 23 starts) and potentially become a $100 million+ pitcher?
3. Chapman has player options for a combined $35 million over the next two years. The Giants waited on the market to acquire him and Snell, and he should be able to make more than that total. Chapman is a solid hitter, hitting around .230, though he doesn’t have as much power as you’d expect, but he’s a great defender (leading third basemen in defensive runs saved). He won’t turn 32 until next year.
Four. Montgomery’s option is worth $20-25 million depending on how many games he starts for Arizona this season. The reason he didn’t get a bigger deal in the offseason is because he’s not a strikeout pitcher (his strikeout rate through eight games at Citi Field is a career-low 14.4% and his ERA is 5.48). But Montgomery is being touted as a high-end third-stringer who has proven he can handle the postseason with New York, and if healthy, he should be able to top the four-year, $80 million deal that Arizona offered Eduardo Rodriguez. Montgomery was acquired by Boras from Wasserman Media Group.
Five. Sean Manaea has a $13.5 million option, which he should easily exceed as he could become an All-Star with the Mets at this point. The left-hander, who Boras also represents, has allowed two runs or fewer in eight of his 10 starts, and the Mets are 7-3 when he starts and 16-30 when he doesn’t.
6. Rhys Hoskins has an $18 million player option with a $4 million buyout. He returned from the disabled list (hamstring) on Friday after missing three weeks and was still tied for the Brewers lead in home runs (9). He missed all of last season with a torn ACL but has been good since. Hoskins is a year and a half older than Pete Alonso and doesn’t have as much power or durability. But his overall value is close enough to Alonso’s. How many teams are willing to sign Hoskins for, say, two years in the offseason instead of Alonso for five or more, especially with the added leadership? Both are represented by Boras.
