Just as some anxiety began to creep in about whether the Yankees would keep Cody Bellinger or not as the Mets apparently had interest in the player, they pulled themselves from the bidding.
Luis Robert Jr. was traded to the New York Mets last night for Luisangel Acuna and Truman Pauley, which effectively removes them from the Bellinger sweepstakes.
The Yankees gain a massive edge in these conversations that they did not have previously, and now these two sides will continue to stare each other down as his most public and aggressive suitor remains unwilling to budge.
While the door could still remain open for other teams to swoop in, arguably the club’s greatest fear has subsided after last night’s transaction.
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Cody Bellinger’s Market Takes a Huge Hit, Yankees Could Reap the Rewards
The three-year $126 million deal that stole Bo Bichette from the Phillies and brought him to the Mets was one that definitely caught the attention of people inside the Yankees’ organization.
Could Steve Cohen, full with rage after Kyle Tucker went to the Dodgers, look to lure in another free agent bat on a short-term high AAV deal structure?
Reports swirled of the team’s interest in Bellinger, but those reports didn’t seem to go anywhere as by the time people on the East Coast began heading to bed, Luis Robert Jr. had been dealt to the Mets.
Instead of an offer with an AAV of potentially $42 million being made to Bellinger to make him re-consider a return to the Bronx, the Yankees remain mostly unopposed in this bidding war.
A trade of Robert to Queens seemingly has zero affect on the team’s win total or odds of winning the American League, but it does provide a lot more clarity on where Cody Bellinger could end up this winter.
In a weird sense, the Yankees were likely overjoyed to see Jeff Passan’s unprovoked news bomb on social media even though the trade did not involve them or an AL East team unloading a talented big leaguer.
While the club has postured a lot in the media as of late, leaking reports of fake interest in top free agents and having it be reported 182 times that they won’t budge on their offer, they really want Cody Bellinger back.
The American League does not have a single team projected to win 87 or more wins, and the Yankees are within 0.5 wins of having the highest projected win total in both their division and league.
Re-signing Cody Bellinger would make a serious dent on the team’s projected outcome, and while you still have to play the games, it heightens the importance of bringing him back.
Going from Jasson Dominguez in left field to Bellinger brings an offensive and defensive upgrade to the roster while either giving them more depth if Giancarlo Stanton gets hurt or a big trade chip to land another piece.
The Yankees’ five-year $160 million offer for Cody Bellinger will likely end up being an overpay the same way that I view Alex Bregman and Ranger Suarez as overpays, but it’s a necessary evil when trying to contend for a title.
It’s a wide-open American League and depending on what they can do with Dominguez, they could have a very deep position player group or end up landing another piece we weren’t expecting.
Despite the public consensus I don’t believe Dominguez or Spencer Jones are holding up a Freddy Peralta deal since I’m not under the impression either are involved in potential proposals, but who knows what they could be eyeing.
Ryan Weathers came out of nowhere, I’d largely expect the same to occur in a reliever or starter trade if either move ends up happening after Cody Bellinger.
New York would still like to get this done soon; these trades and ideas you have lined up for a ‘Bellinger Returns’ plan can come off the board the longer this drags on, but at least the Mets aren’t breathing down your neck in this anymore.