The World Series is over, and the MLB offseason has begun.
The Yankees are typically rumored to be interested in every major free agent and inquiring on every major potential trade candidate. Is this going to be the case this year?
Here are my predictions.
The Yankees Do NOT Sign Cody Bellinger
The Yankees were linked to Cody Bellinger during the 2023 Trade Deadline until the Cubs went on a run and took Bellinger off the market. So it makes sense that the Yankees would once again be linked to Cody Bellinger.
I’m really on the fence as to whether or not I want Cody Bellinger on the Yankees.
The two main reasons that I think Bellinger would be a good fit for the Yankees are:
- He is a lefthanded bat, which the Yankees desperately need
- He actually wants to play in New York and seems to have the right temperament to play in New York, where so many others fail.
Those are two excellent reasons for the Yankees to sign Cody Bellinger.
However there are also very good reasons to not sign Cody Bellinger. Bellinger burst onto the scene in 2017, winning the Rookie of the Year in the same year that Aaron Judge won Rookie of the Year.
But Cody Bellinger’s career has not seen the same highs as Aaron Judge. The similarities end after 2017.
Bellinger has had a few good seasons in-between several seasons that were major disappointments. Whereas Aaron Judge signed the biggest contract ever handed out by the Yankees, Bellinger had to play 2023 on a “prove it” deal.
My prediction is that Hal Steinbrenner will be hesitant to give out the contract that Bellinger is going to command this offseason, which will likely be around 6 years with an AAV of $20 million.
Bellinger is another power bat that strikes out a lot. The Yankees need a lefthanded bat, but they do not need another hitter that strikes out at a frequent clip. With the Yankees re-evaluating their analytics and facing tremendous scrutiny over the deteriorating relationship with Giancarlo Stanton, I think the Yankees have no choice but to make Bellinger a fair offer that is not a “blow you away” offer. This results in Bellinger signing elsewhere. Whether or not that is a good thing, I am not ready to predict.
The Yankees Do NOT Make a Major Free Agent Splash
The Yankees need a lefthanded bat and the Yankees need starting pitching. What the Yankees do not need is another bloated long term contract. The Yankees are heavily scouting Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but I don’t realistically see anyone outbidding Steve Cohen and the Mets.
That is going to leave prime pitching free agents like Blake Snell and Aaron Nola on the market. Demand is always high for starting pitching, and I think the Yankees are going to be hesitant to hand out another big free agent contract to a starting pitcher. I would absolutely love to see Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell in Pinstripes, but I get the feeling it’s not happening.
The Yankees DO Sign Frankie Montas
Brian Cashman is no longer a great baseball mind. He once had potential and was capable of making smart decisions. Then he morphed into someone who bought into his own hype. His ego has run out of control, which was proven by his pathetic little tirade last week. Cashman is not only dumb and full of himself but he is stubborn, probably even more stubborn than Luke.
I truly believe Cashman is going to double down on that horrifically bad Frankie Montas trade to “prove” to everyone that he was right this whole time.
Cashman has transformed into a guy that is incapable of making a good decision, so I have to assume injury prone Frankie Montas will be back for no other reason than to show fans like us that he is so much smarter than the rest of us. So when Montas hits the 60-Day IL two weeks into Spring Training, we’ll once again have proof of what a jabroni Cashman has become.