{"id":421817,"date":"2026-01-18T19:53:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T19:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/421817\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T19:53:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T19:53:11","slug":"blue-jays-get-blunt-scott-boras-message-on-bellinger-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/421817\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays Get Blunt Scott Boras Message on Bellinger Contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Agent\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Scott Boras reportedly offered a direct assessment of Cody Bellinger’s contract demands.<\/p>\n

The New York Yankees<\/a> have taken some strong steps to re-sign their wayward free agent outfielder Cody Bellinger<\/a>, but they still won\u2019t go all the way. According to longtime MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post<\/a>, while Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman are not willing to go beyond a five-year deal for the 30-year-old Bellinger, they \u201care signaling a willingness to do not just one opt-out, but two opt-outs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only that, but according to Heyman\u2019s reporting, the Yankees are also willing to include a sizable signing bonus in the deal, which currently stands at $155 million<\/a> over five seasons.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Report Reveals Honest Take on Boras Demands<\/p>\n

But as the Yankees attempt to cajole Bellinger and his agent Scott Boras into accepting a five-year offer, the Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> now have a golden opportunity to swoop in and steal Bellinger away. And they now know exactly what it will take, if new reporting by Bill Madden of the Post\u2018s competing paper, the New York Daily News<\/a>, proves accurate.<\/p>\n

According to Madden, Boras has an unvarnished message for the Blue Jays \u2014 or any other team looking to add the former National League Rookie of the Year<\/a> and MVP to its 2026 roster.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

It Will Just Take \u2018One Dumb Owner\u2019<\/p>\n

After the Blue Jays missed out on signing free agent Kyle Tucker, who ended up inking with the Los Angeles Dodgers on a $60 million<\/a> per year deal, what Boras is now looking for, according to Madden, is simply an owner willing to exceed the Yankees\u2019 offer, even if it means that owner is \u201cdumb.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Yankees insist the Tucker signing has no bearing on their negotiations with Scott Boras on Bellinger. No doubt Boras will attempt to use the $60 million AAV as the new baseline, but the Yankees long ago determined five years at $31 million to $32 million per year was a more-than-fair value offer for the 30-year-old Bellinger, who is a nice player but in no way a superstar,\u201d Madden wrote in his Daily News report Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoras is still hoping to find One Dumb Owner to top that in both years and AAV, but if one does, the Yankees are prepared to move on,\u201d Madden concluded.<\/p>\n

Steinbrenner, Madden reported, is \u201cdetermined to act responsibly\u201d in the pursuit of Bellinger, and will let the lifetime .817 OPS hitter go if another team betters his offer.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Blue Jays Need One More Bat<\/p>\n

After the Blue Jays failed to land either Tucker or their own now-former shortstop Bo Bichette<\/a>, who took a three-year<\/a>, $126 million deal from the New York Mets<\/a> that includes an opt-out after each year, the defending American League champions remain in need of another formidable bat for the middle of their lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Jays arguably are still a bat away from where they need to be, but the options are dwindling fast,\u201d wrote Will Leitch of MLB.com<\/a> in an analysis published Friday. \u201cCody Bellinger is still out there, but if the Jays can\u2019t pry him away from the Yankees, Toronto might suddenly have some concerns with its lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays have been baseball\u2019s most prolific spenders this offseason, already committing $337 million<\/a> in free agent contracts. But while they have made their roster better than the one that came two outs short of beating the Dodgers in last year\u2019s World Series, Leitch wrote, \u201cthey\u2019re not quite what Jays fans were dreaming they might be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tJonathan Vankin<\/a> JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering Japan Pro Baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Blue Jays\n\t\t<\/p>\n

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