The New York Yankees made a lot of big moves to boost their roster after losing Juan Soto last offseason. They added Cody Bellinger to replace Soto in the outfield, and it proved to be as good a move as anybody could have imagined.
Bellinger wasn’t Soto by any means, but he was a star in the outfield and one of the best bats in the lineup. But now he’s a free agent after opting out of his contract. The Yankees need to prioritize signing him to a new contract this winter, but it’s not going to be easy, considering The Athletic’s Jim Bowden projected Bellinger would sign a massive $168 million deal this winter.
But USA Today’s Bob Nightengale recently predicted the Yankees would win the Bellinger sweepstakes this offseason, which would be a huge win for the Bronx Bombers.
Bellinger needs to be the Yankees’ top priority of the offseason. There’s a chance they want to go after a player like Kyle Tucker, but Tucker is twice as expensive as Bellinger is.
Signing Bellinger would lock in a star next to Aaron Judge for the next five or six years. The Yankees need to be willing to go all in for the rest of Judge’s career. Signing Bellinger would be the next step to being all in.
It’s not going to be easy considering all the big market teams that are likely going to pursue the star, but the Yankees have the money to make a deal happen.
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