Cody Bellinger is holding his line, which has allowed a second New York team to legitimately enter the fray.
The Yankees and the veteran outfielder are still stuck in the mud in negotiations about a potential reunion. Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner refuse to go more than the reported five years, $160 million, while Bellinger and his agent, Scott Boras, are still searching for a seven-year deal.
The likelihood of that long-term deal coming remains slim. While he had a strong debut showing with the Yankees in 2025, he has still averaged a 2.2 WAR per season since the start of the 2020 campaign, making a hypothetical seven-year, $224 million (by the Yankees’ scale) quite the lofty goal.
It most certainly will not come from the Yankees, though, as Bob Klapisch of the Newark Star-Ledger reports that the team has had “internal conversations” not to get into a bidding war for Bellinger and that they are “prepared to let him walk.”
The lack of progress between the two parties has allowed the Mets to inch into the picture, which obviously provides a significant threat to the Yankees. After signing Bo Bichette to a three-year, $126 million deal to play third base on Friday, they still are in dire need of outfield help with holes in left field after trading away Brandon Nimmo and in center field.
Bellinger is versatile enough to play all three outfield positions and first base, which is another question mark considering the Mets are relying on career infielder Jorge Polanco to hold things down at the position, for now. His bat also makes a lineup that now features Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Bichette that much deeper.
But Stearns is not keen on doling out long-term contracts this winter. They picked up Polanco for two years and offered Kyle Tucker four years, but lost out to the Dodgers before quickly pivoting to Bichette.
A short-term, high-annual-value deal like the $220 million they offered Tucker or the $126 million they got Bichette for could soften Bellinger and Boras’ stance on the long-term deal they need, but that obviously remains to be seen.
