Jon Heyman of the New York Post is reporting that the Yankees have submitted an official offer for top free agent target Cody Bellinger this past week.
After hitting 29 home runs and posting a 125 wRC+, Bellinger displayed an ability to mash in Yankee Stadium, using that short right field porch to his advantage.
Talks between these two sides have been going on since the beginning of the offseason as there’s been reported focus on retaining Bellinger dating back to November.
There’s been a flurry of reports from this saga, a lot of them indicating that the Yankees are ahead of the pack in their chances of inking him to a contract.
It’s a negotiation that has dragged on longer than many expected at the start of the offseason, which could be due to a lack of real competition from rival teams.
Cody Bellinger Receives Formal Offer From Yankees, Negotiations Are Ongoing
The Yankees were thrilled with what they got from Cody Bellinger during the 2025 season, as he displayed elite-level defense in the corner outfield to go with a good bat.
His 5.1 WAR on Baseball Reference and 4.9 WAR on FanGraphs made him the team’s second-best player in that metric, trailing AL MVP Aaron Judge.
People inside the organization are hoping for a Bellinger reunion, but the reporting from the likes of Jack Curry and Jeff Passan have indicated that they will not overextend themselves to do so.
With Trent Grisham back on the roster from the onset of the winter, the Yankees have one of their outfield spots filled and could very well roll with Jasson Dominguez in left field if Scott Boras gets a massive offer somewhere else.
That speculated competition has not percolated to the point where the Yankees seem particularly worried, as Heyman also reported in December that they weren’t overly concerned that Bellinger would bolt to the Mets.
Whether that ends up biting them in the rear end or not remains to be seen, but their crosstown rivals have been reportedly measured in their approach to the top of the free agent market.
Rather than blowing payroll on players who they do not believe fit their value points such as Pete Alonso on a five-year $155 million deal, they’d rather get a plethora of productive and versatile hitters such as Jorge Polanco.
Time will tell whether the Yankees retain Cody Bellinger or not, but if a formal offer is on the table, it could indicate the final stages of this free-agent saga.