Cody Bellinger said he’s happy to be back with Aaron Judge and the rest of his New York Yankees teammates. “We all played well [last season] and I’m excited to be running it back with these guys.” (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
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Cody Bellinger will be back with the New York Yankees on a five-year contract worth $162.5 million, it was officially announced this week. But the real question fans are asking is whether it’s enough to make the Bombers any better this coming season?
The Yankees are essentially returning in 2026 under beleaguered manager Aaron Boone with the same 94-68 team that tied the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the American League East, but lost to them in a four-game AL Division Series.
“I feel really good about that,” Bellinger said Wednesday during a Zoom call with reporters. “It may not be what everyone wants to hear, but I really do love the group that we had. We had a special unit. We had great chemistry. I don’t think it can be understood unless you’re in the clubhouse. We have some important pieces coming back. We all played well and I’m excited to be running it back with these guys.”
Pieces not coming back include key bullpen set-up right-handers Devin Williams and Luke Weaver, who both signed with the New York Mets. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt remains a free agent who could wind up in Arizona where his career started or back with the Yanks.
And starters Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery on his right elbow) and Carlos Rondon (left elbow surgery to remove loose particles) aren’t expected to return until May at the earliest, with Cole probably a lot later.
The other aggressive teams in their division – the Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles – have all added key parts and are much better.
Yankees Have Made Relatively Few Offseason Moves
Back on Nov. 23 we wrote that the Yankees needed to have a brisk offseason if they wanted to win the World Series this year for the first time since 2009, quoting general manager Brian Cashman as saying they had “a lot of work to do and a whole winter to do it.”
“Obviously, we need to get more contact hitting,” Cashman said, stating the obvious after the Blue Jays lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the final pitch of Game 7. “We have too many Ks, especially at the bottom of the order. Our internal guys can improve in that skill or that can be corrected by importing somebody. Time will tell.”
Time has come today, as the Chambers Brothers sang.
With holes all over the place, the Yankees went quietly as players signed elsewhere: Mets first baseman Pete Alonso with the Orioles for five years at $155 million; Jays shortstop Bo Bichette with the Mets for three years at $126 million; Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman with the Chicago Cubs for five years at $175 million, and Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker with the Los Angeles Dodgers for four years at $240 million.
Any one of those players would have helped the Yankees, but instead Cashman, principal owner Hal Steinbrenner, and company spent the offseason negotiating with agent Scott Boras about Bellinger, who really didn’t want to leave New York.
“We were dealing with a titan,” Cashman said Wednesday during his own Zoom session about working with Boras. “You’re never done until you’re done.”
Seven years, eight years, $400 million? It was going to happen when the Yankees got the right deal.
“Yankee Stadium was a special place to play, and I really enjoyed my time there,” said Bellinger, who was traded by the Cubs to the Yankees after the 2024 season. “This year after lots of conversations with Scott, the free-agent process is an interesting one for sure and exciting as well. Ultimately, it all came to fruition there at the end. I’m very excited. I’m very excited to get back. To get to [spring training in] Tampa and to get going.”
Yankees Outfield of Judge, Bellinger and Grisham Remains Unchanged
Bellinger rejoins the core of the team: DH Giancarlo Stanton and fellow outfielders reigning two-time in a row AL MVP Aaron Judge, and Trent Grisham, who accepted a $22 million qualifying offer early in the free agent season.
But the rest of the team? It’s worth reprising what we wrote in November. Last season, catcher Austin Wells hit .219 and shortstop Anthony Volpe .212. Ben Rice batted .255 in a platoon at first base with Goldschmidt. Third baseman Ryan McMahon had a .208 average after the trade deadline deal that brought him over from Colorado.
Plus, Volpe required offseason left-shoulder surgery to repair a partially torn labrum and may not be ready to start the 2026 season. Cashman said he wouldn’t offer a time table about Volpe’s return, noting only, “He’s in camp rehabbing and working his butt off.”
Bellinger batted .272 with 29 homers and 98 RBIs, and declined his own player option. But the Yanks are built around Judge, the team captain who hit 53 homers, and also led MLB with a .331 batting average, 86 points higher than the league’s .245 average and 80 points higher than his own team.
The Yankees led the league with 274 homers, but struck out 1,462 times, rarely winning if they weren’t clouting the ball.
“The team we had last year was really good on paper but fell short of our ultimate goal,” Cashman said back in November. “We’ve got to find a way to get back to at least where we were, but the ultimate goal is to make it better.”
On their behalf, the Yanks have spent money. The Yanks’ payroll currently stands at $324.5 million, fourth in MLB. The luxury tax threshold for 2026 is $244 million. There’s always a question about how far above the threshold the Yanks will want to spend, but so far their luxury tax bill is $63.4 million, about $100 million less than the two-time defending World Series-winning Dodgers.
Cashman offered Wednesday that the Yankees, as now situated, are a better team, despite an offseason of running in place.
“I’m not afraid to run out the quality of players we have,” Cashman said. “We’ve been consistent with that throughout the entire winter. I’ve been openly willing to challenge anyone that we don’t have a championship-caliber roster and team. It’s a different mix and we’re looking for a different result. A better result. We’ll see where it takes us.”
For the Yankees it’s time … time … time.