The New York Yankees have acquired 1B/OF Cody Bellinger in a trade with the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday. New York will also receive $5M towards Bellinger’s 2025 salary as part of the deal. The 29 year old is currently under contract through 2025 at a cost of $27.5M with a $25M player option in 2026.
Heading back the other way is 30 year old RHP Cody Poteet, who went 3-0 with a 2.22 ERA, and 16 Ks across 24.1IP for New York last season.
Bellinger will head to the Bronx where his father Clay was a member of the Yankees from 1999 to 2001. The former NL MVP had an uneven 2024 campaign, hitting .266 with 18 HRs, 78 RBIs, 72 runs scored and 9 SB. All of those figures were well below his 2023 numbers where he hit .307 with 26 HRs, 97 RBIs, 95 runs scored, and 20 SB in the same number of games (130).
New York is evidently banking on Bellinger’s positional versatility as a reason for optimism that a change in scenery can reignite his above average offensive production. Whether the club chooses to deploy him at first base or in the outfield largely depends on how ongoing talks with free agent 1B Pete Alonso and Christian Walker progress. The former Cub could join an outfield tandem of Aaron Judge and Jason Dominguez in 2025 if the Yankees are successful in landing Alonso or Walker this offseason.
Bellinger helps balance out the Yankees batting order as a left handed bat, replacing the now departed Juan Soto in the middle of the order. To date, New York has made some splashy moves to their starting rotation and bullpen, signing Max Fried and Devin Williams, but still had some question marks at the plate they needed to solve. Bellinger’s addition helps, but by no means replaces Soto in their lineup.
From a Cubs perspective, the move is largely a salary dump, as journeyman pitcher Poteet is a depth acquisition at best for a team that has NL Central title aspirations in 2025.
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