In the midst of a less-than-ideal offseason, the Yankees found an ideal target.
With the loss of Juan Soto, what the Yankees needed was a first baseman and center fielder, preferably with a strong glove. A left-handed bat is preferred as it tends to pull the ball. Probably someone with a history of playing in a big market (maybe even has some Yankees blood). And some wanted to wear pinstripes, as they always wanted.
Cody Bellinger checked all the boxes.
The outfielder and first baseman was acquired on Tuesday, when the Yankees sent Cody Poteet to the Cubs to get a player back, the only drawback being that he had two years and $52.5 million left on his contract. (Players will have an opt-out after next season). and the Cubs will pay $5 million).
The Yankees were happy to acquire a talented athlete who was an almost perfect fit for their roster.
Apparently the feeling was mutual.
“He's a good baseball player and a player who wants to be here,” GM Brian Cashman said Wednesday at the stadium where the club introduced Max Fried. “I've been hearing this for a long time, including his agent Scott Boras, saying, 'Can you bring him here?' He's driving me crazy. He's a Yankee.” I want to be.”
Bellinger's drive helped, but his game was a bigger factor for the Yankees.
The 29-year-old had one of the strangest active careers in the majors.
He lived up to the hype and joined the Dodgers as a top prospect who won National League Rookie of the Year in 2017 and MVP in 2019.
His rise plummeted from 2021 to 2022, when he was one of the worst hitters in baseball (.611 total OPS), but this may be related to shoulder surgery in November 2020. .
The one-time MVP was non-tendered by the Dodgers and signed with the Cubs, but bounced back in 2023 with a more contact-oriented approach, but slumped in 2024, posting a .751 OPS with 18 home runs. 130 games.
If Bellinger, a left-handed swinger who hit 43 percent of his hits over eight seasons, had played all of last season in the Bronx, Statcast estimates he would have hit six more home runs.
“His swing is built for Yankee Stadium,” Cashman said, noting that Steinbrenner Field, where the Rays play, has the exact same dimensions, so the Yankees' home games next season will essentially be He pointed out that it would be 87 games. “He gets the ball up in the air on the pull side.”
“I truly believe he's going to play offensively in our yard,” coach Aaron Boone added.
The swing fits, and so does the glove.
It's harder to find a center fielder than a first baseman, so the best bet would be for Bellinger to play the outfield and the Yankees add a first baseman, but his flexibility gives the team options.
Cashman said he doesn't know yet where Bellinger will play, and Boone said Bellinger is open to playing anywhere.
“I talked to him [Tuesday] It was a long night,” Boone said. “One of the things he said to me before I brought up the topic of where to play. He was like, 'By the way, don't worry about where I play, I'll play anywhere.' ” That night, wherever you need me, center, left, first. ”
Bellinger, who has yet to be officially introduced as a Yankees player, seems to know what to say — perhaps because he learned from his father, Clay, who was a Yankees utility man from 1999 to 2001. .
Cashman, who acquired the father, once let slip and called Cody Clay.
“He's definitely really excited.” [Cody]” Cashman said of Clay.
