Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reported Thursday that the Yankees had made an offer for Bellinger for more than $30 million per year. Olney reiterated that figure and also noted that the proposal on the table had a term of five years. Bellinger and his team (he is a Boras Corporation client) have been pursuing a deal for seven years, while New York reportedly preferred something between four and five.
A five-year contract worth more than $30 million per season would be right in line with the deals the top free agents have been making this season. Pete Alonso received five years and $155 million from Baltimore. Kyle Schwarber returned to Philadelphia on a five-year, $150 million deal. The length of New York’s latest offer would be an obvious sticking point for Bellinger’s camp given their known preferences, but Olney added that they also want to do better than the $30MM AAV.
Bellinger seemed to be New York’s main priority this season. Kyle Tucker is the best hitter on the market, but reports suggested he was the Yankees’ backup plan for Bellinger. The club was only recently linked Bo Bichette and is not significantly related to it Alex Bregman.
The now thirty-year-old Bellinger excelled in his only season in the Bronx. He slashed .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs in 152 games. Bellinger took full advantage of the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium, hitting .302 at home with 18 home runs. His OPS dropped nearly 200 points along the way.
The Cubs were the most recent team to join the long list of Bellinger suitors. The Dodgers, Giants, Mets, Angels, Blue Jays and Phillies have all been linked to the free agent outfielder at various times this season. A return to Chicago would be fitting after the club twice gave Bellinger a home when the market went cold for him.
After the Dodgers cut ties with the 2019 NL MVP, the Cubs added him to a one-year, $17.5 million pact through 2023. Bellinger hit a career-high .307 and posted a 135 wRC+ in his first year in Chicago, but that wasn’t enough to land a long-term contract from other teams the following offseason. The Cubs brought him back late in the winter on a three-year opt-out deal. The club would send him to the Yankees after just one season, which amounted to a salary dump, so it might not be a perfect homecoming.
Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images
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