The New York Yankees officially pulled the trigger when they landed Cody Bellinger in a trade that brought him to New York from the Chicago Cubs for Cody Poteet and $5 million to offset Bellinger’s salary. This trade was widely rumored throughout the off-season as one of the choices for replacing Juan Soto. While the Yankees still have more moves to make, many believe that this move will create a more balanced Yankees team and have a heavier emphasis on defense.
The Bronx Bombers hope to replicate his father’s success as Clay Bellinger was a former Yankee himself. Clay is a three-time World Series champion; two of those championships came with the Yankees and the third with the Los Angeles Angels in 2002. Clay Bellinger slashed a career stat line of .193/.257/.363 with 12 home runs and 35 RBIs. While these aren’t stats that have baseball fans impressed, Bellinger has a championship pedigree and a history of playing with winners throughout his career.
He also played multiple positions, like his son, Clay, who was an outfielder and played first and third base throughout his career. His son, Cody, will be the fourth father-son duo in Yankees history to put on the pinstripes. Fans can only hope that, just like his father, Cody can hold up a World Series trophy while in pinstripes.
Cody Bellinger will come into the Bronx with various accolades behind him. Bellinger is a World Series champion already, having played with the 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers, a Gold Glove award winner, 2017 NL Rookie of the Year, a two-time Silver Slugger, NLCS MVP, and the 2019 NL MVP.
Bellinger has a career WAR 24.5 with a slash line of .259/.334/.484 with 196 home runs, 942 hits, and 597 RBIs. Coming from the 2024 season, Bellinger slashed .266/.325/.426 with 18 home runs, 137 hits, and 78 RBIs. While Bellinger is far and away from being able to replace Juan Soto, Bellinger’s power swing could actually be very effective at Yankee Stadium.
When overlaying Bellinger’s 2024 spray chart over Yankee Stadium, there are about 15 balls that Bellinger hit that would be considered home runs at Yankee Stadium rather than a double or a triple.
It’s possible that Bellinger could have a career season in 2025 and hit over 30 home runs when considering his swing at Yankee Stadium. While other factors play into these potential homers, like weather and how fast the wind blows that day, Bellinger’s swing is perfect for Yankee Stadium.
Bellinger being a Gold Glove winner should also be looked at as well. It’s most likely that Bellinger will play at center field, which will place Aaron Judge back on the right field. While there has not been official confirmation, as Yankees manager Aaron Boone stated, there’s no official word on where Bellinger is playing.
Fortunately, Cody Bellinger can also play first base, leaving room for the Yankees to potentially get another outfielder should Boone decide to play Bellinger at the first base position. Having Bellinger at center field could also relieve Judge of the pressures of making an error at center field again in the World Series if they make it in 2025.
Bellinger’s defense will be important to this Yankees team, as they have struggled immensely with defense throughout the years. Adding Bellinger to the mix will help prevent errors and create better cushions when the Boys in Pinstripes have a lead throughout the game.
After adding Max Fried, Devin Williams, and Cody Bellinger, the Yankees are gun-ho on returning to the World Series. Bellinger is only one of hopefully many additional bats that the Yankees could sign this offseason and get back into the World Series. It seems that Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner want to send a message to the league that they could pivot from losing out on Juan Soto and that they’re able to spread their money out to create a more balanced team.
Losing Juan Soto took a massive blow to the Bronx Bombers organization, but they’re clearly doing their best to soften the blow with Cody Bellinger as one of their acquisitions. Fans would have to wait and see how Bellinger adjusts to playing in the Bronx. Fortunately for Bellinger, he has a former Yankee on speed dial to help him and hopefully help bring Cody another championship to the Bronx.
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