Both the 2024 and 2025 Yankees were home to baseball’s best outfield, as they finished first in both WAR and OPS from their outfield in consecutive seasons.
As things stand right now the Yankees have a 12.4 projected outfield WAR on FanGraphs’ Depth Charts projections, the highest mark for any team in the league.
With both Cody Bellinger and Kyle Tucker available on the market, the Yankees could put some serious distance between them and the rest of the league.
Nothing suggests the team will sit idly by for both outfielders either, and while on-paper they have a great situation, they could once-again build a top-flight outfield by inking a top-of-the-market bat.
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Which Route Should the Yankees Take in Assembling Super Outfield?
One thing that the Trent Grisham signing did for the Yankees was remove the dire need for a centerfielder, which isn’t just a plus for their odds of landing Kyle Tucker.
It also serves to put Cody Bellinger at his best defensive position, which is left field, instead of letting him play centerfield where he has regressed sharply in recent years.
Grisham isn’t a plus defensive centerfielder anymore, but his defensive metrics were better before the hamstring injury, and its offset by having two plus corner outfielders in Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger next to him.
The question of Bellinger or Tucker comes down to projected value, their price ranges, and the opportunity cost, as the Yankees have serious pitching needs to address on top of improving their outfield.
If the Yankees were to add Kyle Tucker they’d be adding a top-10 hitter on the planet who would be able to contribute HR power, on-base skills, and excellent bat-to-ball skills.
He’s a well-rounded hitter who punishes lefties and righties, and while he might not be an anchor for a World Series contender, there aren’t many teams who have a better individual hitter than Tucker.
That’s the advantage to having him; he’s regressed to more of an average defender in the corner outfielder but he has the wits and defensive know-how to be a competent left fielder at Yankee Stadium.
Furthermore, Tucker may not be faster than Cody Bellinger, but he has more Stolen Bases and Baserunning Runs than him since 2023 because of his excellent baseball IQ.
Everyone knows he’s an impact player, but what would it cost to get him and how does his addition impact the ability to make other additions?
Kyle Tucker is the elite hitter (and better player), but he’ll come at a higher cost and we’ve seen the Yankees fail to address all of those needs because of high-priced acquisitions.
When the team acquired Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams, and Paul Goldschmidt, it left the team without the financial firepower to acquire a third baseman.
Had the team done better than Oswald Peraza, Oswaldo Cabrera, and DJ LeMahieu as their fourth infielder from the jump, the Yankees might have won the American League East.
Those three players combined for a 65 wRC+ and -0.2 WAR for the Yankees, and I don’t believe the opportunity cost of ignoring the rotation or bullpen is worth getting Tucker instead of Bellinger.
If the Yankees were to bring back Cody Bellinger for this upcoming season, he could be part of a roster that would be expected to perform extremely well defensively.
While the Yankees overperformed their offensive projections, they severely underperformed their defensive projections, finishing 12th in Fielding Run Value (+8) and 13th in DRS (+30) during 2025.
Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge, Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, Ryan McMahon, and Jazz Chisholm are all plus defenders at their positions, and I’d expect Trent Grisham and Ben Rice to be closer to league-average than awful.
On their bench you’d have J.C. Escarra and Jose Caballero who are plus defenders as well, and if they pick up a solid fourth outfielder and final bench piece, they can put together a top-five defensive team in the game.
The financial flexibility to add some frontend pitching for the rotation and bullpen would complete a strong offseason for the Yankees, but it leads to my final point about this outfield situation.
Aaron Judge is the anchor in the Yankees’ outfield and its why they project so well, because any group that has the best hitter in the world is going to probably be effective.
The Yankees also have the sixth-best centerfield projection because of Trent Grisham is projected to produce the fifth-most centerfield WAR in baseball among players under contract with a team right now.
Where they’re underwhelming is in left field, and Cody Bellinger was the best left fielder in baseball last year while Kyle Tucker moving from right field would make him the best left fielder in the game.
How they choose to spend and operate will determine whether Tucker is the better play or not, but that’s for us to find out in the coming months.