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He was a left-handed hitting outfielder.
They were a Bronx-based baseball team.
Can I make it any more obvious?
The offseason began with Cody Bellinger exercising his opt-out and hitting the free agent market a year early, eager to take advantage of arguably his best
season since he won the 2019 National League MVP. From the beginning, though, it seemed inevitable that he would return to the Bronx and continue to don the same uniform his father wore. Bellinger hyped up the organization. The front office hyped up the player. Like two high school students who broke up due to circumstances but still clearly had a thing for each other, it seemed inevitable that the two would get back together once the dust cleared.
Well, it took long enough. After three months of Scott Boras looking at Cashman, and Cashman looking at Bellinger, the outfielder finally blinked, signing a still-generous, five-year deal worth $162.5 million. And the crowd went wild.
Oh, yeah, the crowd didn’t go wild because it’s Bellinger. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy, think he’s a solid player, and am glad he’s back. But, much like these two commenters (and many others), I’m simply happy that I won’t be writing up any more Around the Empire posts trying to come up with yet another pun saying that the Yankees are still daring Bellinger to accept their contract.
When it came to the deal itself, our lovely PSA comments’ section could be broken down into three categories. First up, we have the “We’re a better team with him, so I’m happy he’s back” group, who mostly expressed satisfaction — but perhaps not the overenthusiastic excitement that would have followed, say, a Kyle Tucker signing.
Others, however, were not quite as thrilled with the contract, arguing that he does not move the needle enough in what is expected to be a viciously tight American League East in 2026.
Still others, in classic Pinstripe Alley fashion, have already put Bellinger in the rearview mirror and have begun to ask the Bartletian question, “What’s next?”
Oh, and one commenter directly expressed joy that Scott Boras failed to get his client a seven-year deal, although I argue with their notion that Boras rarely loses these days. See, for example: Gerrit Cole’s opt-out last winter, Jordan Montgomery’s failed free agent market, Alex Bregman’s free agency last year, Carlos Correa’s free agency a few years back; basically, anybody not at the extreme top of the market has had a more difficult free agency that they anticipated.
And so, after all this, I return the question to you, dear readers. What are your thoughts on the Yankees’ decision to finally get down on one knee and ask Bellinger to be their left fielder for 2026 — or perhaps, more accurately, on Bellinger finally saying yes?
Vote in our poll, and let us know your thoughts in the comments’ section below!
