Not every offseason acquisition pans out the way teams intend, and the New York Yankees have had it both ways this season. They acquired Devin Williams, one of the best closers in baseball since 2020, who has blown numerous leads and cost New York countless games. On the other hand, they also traded for Cody Bellinger, who has arguably been their best position player this season not named Aaron Judge. With the value he adds to the team, the Yankees should try to re-sign him to a new contract this offseason.
Cody Bellinger Has Earned a New Contract with the Yankees
The Captain’s Shadow
Playing next to Aaron Judge, it took a long time for many to start noticing just how impactful Bellinger has been for the Yankees this season. However, when Judge went on the injured list a few weeks ago, it immediately became apparent just how well the former National League MVP has been playing. Despite a slow start to the season (Bellinger’s OPS was .610 on May 3), he slowly began to rake at the dish while continuing to play excellent defense in every outfield spot.
Cody Bellinger’s 20th HR makes it a brand new ballgame! pic.twitter.com/Ji3DAbPZjw
— MLB (@MLB) July 30, 2025
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Now, on August 6, the 30-year-old is slashing .276/.328/.496 with 20 homers, 66 RBI, and a 33/58 walk-strikeout ratio. According to Baseball Savant, he also puts up 6 outs-above-average (OAA) in the outfield with above-average speed on the bases. New York knew Bellinger would help them in the outfield this season when they got him from the Chicago Cubs last winter, but he has arguably been keeping them afloat during their Judge-less cold streak.
Contract Year
At the end of this season, Cody Bellinger’s contract has a player option for $25 million with a $5 million buyout. If he declines this option, he’ll become a free agent. He also had an option for $27.5 million last offseason, which he ended up taking. But, since he’s having a much better season this year than last year, this would be the time to test the market and field offers from other teams.
Bellinger has been open about how he’s enjoyed playing for the Yankees, but if they aren’t willing to outbid other teams, he may join Juan Soto as another one-season Yankee. MLB insider Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report also predicts that Bellinger will opt out of his contract at the end of this season, even predicting that the outfielder will end up signing a three-to-four-year deal with the San Francisco Giants. Though it’s too early to tell where Bellinger will be next season, it very well could be outside of the Bronx.
New York Must Win Now
With perhaps their best set of outfielders in years, the time is now for the Yankees to go all-in on a World Series run. They know this, having completely revamped their bullpen at the trade deadline. But they also have a lot of players hitting free agency this winter, including Trent Grisham, Devin Williams, and Paul Goldschmidt. The championship window is now, and they need Bellinger to help them win.
Bellinger has simply been one of the best all-around players in the league this year, let alone for New York. If they were to extend/re-sign him, they could solidify him, Judge and Jasson Dominguez as their core outfield squad. And, as we’ve seen over the past few weeks, this lineup would be much worse off without him. The Yankees have to make keeping Bellinger one of their top priorities this offseason. Otherwise, their lineup is going to suffer down the road.
Main Photo Credit: Tom Horak-Imagn Images
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