New York Yankees Must Preserve Versatile Slugger

Cody Bellinger is a keeper, and the New York Yankees understand it.

This season, Bellinger has been a dependable slugger and versatile defender, succesful within the outfield and infield and placing up a .274/.328/.489 slash line with an .817 OPS. Bellinger enters free company after this season, nonetheless, and after a 12 months like this the Yankees might want to prioritize hanging onto him.

Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors ranked Bellinger fifth in his most up-to-date free agent Power Rankings, and outlined what he may cost a little the staff in the event that they do determine to make him a precedence.

“Through a series of one-year deals and opt-out opportunities, Bellinger keeps finding his way onto MLBTR’s Power Rankings,” Adams wrote. “He was just off the early-season edition of this year’s rankings but has risen to the middle of the pack due to some down years from other free agents but, more importantly, a very strong all-around performance of his own.”

“Bellinger looked lost at the plate from 2021-22 while returning from shoulder surgery, but this is his third straight strong year with the bat. He entered play Wednesday slashing .276/.328/.496 with 20 homers and 10 steals. Bellinger has continually whittled away at his strikeout rate in recent years, to the point that he’s now one of the toughest strikeouts in the sport, sitting at just 12.9%.”

“He doesn’t post the type of gaudy exit velocity numbers toward which today’s front offices gravitate, but he’s been a consistently above-average hitter for three years now despite a middling quality-of-contact profile.”

Bellinger struggled in 2021 and 2022 because of a sequence of accidents to his shoulder, calf and ribs that resulted in profession lows in house runs (10 in 2021) and batting common (.165). The NL Comeback Player of the Year in 2023 has flourished once more with the Yankees in 2025, one in every of their biggest property in a season that retains going downhill. If their struggles persist, they are going to want Bellinger to return again preventing subsequent 12 months. Based on his efficiency this 12 months, he’ll be price each penny.

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