Yankees open to including opt-outs in Bellinger’s offer

The Yankees reportedly have a five-year offer worth more than $30 million per year on the table Cody Bellinger. ESPN’s Buster Olney nevertheless, wrote this weekend that New York was preparing for the possibility that the outfielder could go elsewhere, possibly on a six-plus year contract.

Brendan Kuty of The Athletic added some details about the Yankees’ position in a report tonight. Kuty writes that the five-year proposal had a “real” average annual value of $31-32 million because it did not include deferred money. He adds that the Yankees are also willing to discuss opt-out options, although it is unknown whether their most recent offer actually included such a clause. Jon Heyman of The New York Post also suggested that some form of opt-out was possible.

The contract duration appears to be the biggest stumbling block. Bellinger’s camp at the Boras Corporation is reportedly looking for a seven-year warranty. Olney suggested this weekend that he also wanted more than the Yankees were offering on an annual basis, but the extra two years seems to be the bigger hurdle. Bellinger is entering his age-30 season (although he turns 31 in July, less than two weeks after the unofficial July 1 cutoff for a player’s season age).

As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker for Front Office Subscribers, Brandon Nimmo signed the most recent free agent deal of more than six years for a hitter in his 30s. That eight-year pact was one of four such contracts during the 2022-23 offseason, but there hasn’t been one in the past two offseasons. Alex Bregman turned down a six-year offer from Detroit last winter ahead of his age-31 campaign. Bregman agreed last week to a five-year contract that runs through age 36, the same age at which a seven-year contract for Bellinger would be completed. Kyle Schwarber signed a five-year contract for the 33-37 age group last month.

Bellinger opted out on short notice during his last free agent trip. He signed a three-year, $80 million guarantee with outs after each of the first two seasons. After missing the first opportunity, he returned to the market after a .272/.334/.480 season in the Bronx. He is not tied to a qualifying offer this time around and already appears assured of a much more lucrative guarantee than he offered in his previous free agent deal.