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The New York Yankees have some tough contract decisions to make over the next few months, with one of them being with Cody Bellinger. The Yankees landed Bellinger in a deal with the Chicago Cubs during the offseason, and he’s been just as good as anybody could’ve expected. Entering the season, there were certainly some questions about Bellinger, as he’s fallen off a bit since his MVP days, but he’s been great in New York.
With a $25 million option, some believe he could opt out of that deal for a few different reasons. While Bellinger might not get $25 million AAV in another deal, he’ll likely secure long-term money.
Randy Miller of NJ.com believes that will be the case. He recently talked about some of Bellinger’s stats and what he expects him to do next winter.
“Contract: Making $27.5M in first of two player-option seasons included in a three-year, $80M pact signed with Cubs on 2/25/24. Has $25 million player option or $5 million buyout for 2026. 2025 hitting stats: Yankees, .269 average, 431 AB, 65 runs, 116 hits, 21 HR, 68 RBI, 10 SB, .808 OPS, 111 games.
“2025 fielding stats: 0 errors, 55 games (38 starts) in left field; 0 errors, 36 games (34 starts) in right field; 2 errors, 34 games (33 starts) in center field; 0 errors, 6 games (2 starts) at first base. Prediction: Re-signs with Yankees,” he wrote.
Cody Bellinger Talks About His Yankees Future
Bellinger understands that he has a tough decision coming up with the New York Yankees. However, this doesn’t have much to do with the Yankees themselves.
The 30-year-old has to ensure that he can get paid moving forward, and after a few streaky years, he’s figured it out two of the past three seasons. When speaking to the New York Post about his expectations for free agency, he didn’t have many comments about it. Instead, he said it’s too far ahead and he’s just worried about the task.
“As cliché as it sounds, I’m really just taking it day by day,” Bellinger said when asked about his contract before Tuesday’s game against the Twins, per Peter Botte of the Post. “There’s like 45 games left in the regular season, and obviously we have dreams and aspirations of getting to the postseason and back to the World Series.
“So for me, it’s too far ahead. I haven’t even talked to my agent about it. I told him I just want to play and focus on the task at hand right now. So that’s what I’ve been doing.”
Does Cody Bellinger Want to Stay in New York?
At 64-56, 5.5 games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East, the New York Yankees have a lot of work to do. Bellinger will play a significant role heading into the back end of the year, and his comments suggest he has enjoyed his time in New York.
Perhaps that could impact his decision, but he’ll only answer that in a couple of months.
“It’s been fun. The city is great, the fans have been great to me. Yankee Stadium is a fun place to play, and I think we have a really great group in this clubhouse,” the lefty-swinging Bellinger said. “It’s been fun to show up to the ballpark every day, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan
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