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New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger

The New York Yankees have tough free agency decisions over the next few months, mainly with outfielder Cody Bellinger. Bellinger has a $25 million player option for the 2026 season, but many don’t expect him to opt into that deal.

Instead, Bellinger could look at a multi-year deal for more long-term money, even if the AAV doesn’t come out to $25 million annually. According to Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors, Bellinger can get over $100 million over a six-year contract. For the Yankees, with some of their young talent coming up, it’s something they have to consider giving him.

“Bellinger holds a $25MM player option for the 2026 season. It comes with a $5MM buyout that he’ll receive if he declines. Even if it were a true $25MM decision rather than a net $20MM decision, Bellinger would easily turn the option down. He can’t receive a qualifying offer this time around, and despite how many straight offseasons he’s been a fixture on the free agent market, he’ll play the bulk of next season at just 30 years of age.

“Bellinger would only be 35 at the completion of a five-year deal or 36 after a six-year pact. An annual salary north of $20MM for a 30-year-old corner outfielder who’s posted a .283/.337/.481 slash in nearly 1600 plate appearances since 2023 — particularly one who can capably handle center field or first base — should be attainable, which means Bellinger has a real chance to sign for more than $100MM on the open market this time around,” he wrote .

Cody Bellinger Will Have Suitors

If the New York Yankees let Bellinger walk, many teams around the league will likely compete to sign him. That includes the San Francisco Giants, who have been attempting to find stars over the past few offseasons. They eventually landed on one with Rafael Devers in an in-season trade with the Boston Red Sox. Still, they could be interested in making another move for a player of Bellinger’s caliber. Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently predicted that to be the case, but only had him landing a three-year deal.

“Bellinger has a $25M player option for 2026, but he has re-harnessed his slugging well enough that he’ll probably decline it and set his sights upon another 3/$80M or better type of deal,” he wrote .

“(Prediction: Bellinger signs a three-year or four-year deal with the Giants.)”

Will the Yankees let Cody Bellinger Walk?

Others believe that the New York Yankees will allow Bellinger to walk, regardless of the price.

When examining what could happen over the next few months, Aaliyan Mohammed of Newsweek recently had some interesting thoughts.

He noted that the Yankees’ decision not to trade Spencer Jones could be a telling sign of what’s to come for Bellinger and his future in New York. If the Yankees don’t trade Jones, he could soon be in the outfield.

“That decision could speak volumes about the Yankees’ plans with Cody Bellinger. Aaron Judge figures to return to the outfield as soon as he can throw again and will man the position for years to come. Jasson Domínguez seems to be regarded highly as a part of the team’s future. As for the third outfield spot, the future is less clear right now,” he wrote .

Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan