Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic hopped on Foul Territory to discuss Cody Bellinger, a top free agent target for the Yankees and other teams including the Mets.
In this segment he detailed that a signing could occur during the week, as there’s growing impatience from teams and the player himself could want a resolution with some time before he has to report to camp.
Whether he’ll be reporting to George M. Steinbrenner Field or not remains to be seen, but the Yankees’ five-year $160 million offer is out there and they expect it to be their final one to Bellinger.
Cody Bellinger was an important piece for the 2025 Yankees, Brian Cashman said as much during the GM Meetings in November, but there’s a line in the sand for the club and they appear to have already gone up against it.
READ MORE: The Yankees have 2 options to replace Cody Bellinger if he slips away
This Week Could Finally Bring an End to the Yankees’ Cody Bellinger Saga
Scott Boras and Brian Cashman have been locked in a very public and very difficult negotiation process for weeks, as both sides have had information leak in an attempt to scare the other.
We don’t have official reports confirming which side revealed what pieces of information, but you can assume the information regarding the contracts terms of rumored interest in Bo Bichette didn’t come from the agent.
Interest from the Blue Jays was overblown, with The Athletic reporting that there isn’t a belief that they’ll suddenly gain the appetite to outbid a team like the Yankees for his services.
That you can imagine came from the Boras Corp camp, hoping to drum up some anxiety inside the Yankees’ building as these two sides have a clear gap in perception of who the player is, but will the league outbid their current offer?
The New York Mets are rumored to have interest in Cody Bellinger on a short-term contract with a high AAV, although an offer has not been reported.
It would be plausible to believe that they can offer a similar $40 million AAV structure, but would that be more enticing than a $32 million AAV structure with more term, a signing bonus, and no deferrals?
Whether the Yankees are able to get this deal across the finish line remains to be seen however these two sides are interested in a reunion if it can get done.