According to legitimate sources, the Cody Bellinger trade that's felt like an inevitability since even before the Yankees missed on Kyle Tucker has hit a snag. Or, more specifically, it's been hitting the same snag for weeks, and nobody feels like blinking yet.
Bellinger would represent an above-average bat and a solid glove for the Yankees, and could play either first base or left/center field comfortably. He's not a mega-star, though, but merely an upgrade on Alex Verdugo across the board. If the Yankees sign Christian Walker and/or Alex Bregman, than bringing in Bellinger could represent another example of solidifying things around the diamond and raising the team's floor. If he's their only major offensive addition in Juan Soto's place? That's quite bad.
That explains why the Yankees have no interest in relieving the Cubs of Bellinger's entire $26,666,667 luxury tax hit for the next two years. If New York and Chicago can't come to terms over how much revenue will be shared, the Yankees will gladly move on, given the plethroa of other first base options (including Anthony Santander).
Despite a weekend of (unsourced) rumors indicating that the two teams were working out the final details, this still appears to be a staring contest. And the Cubs might not have the leverage they believe they do.
Still a $ gap in Bellinger trade talk with Yankees and Cubs as of this minute. It’s a matter of “who blinks first,” if ever. Still could happen but Yanks also considering Alonso, Walker, C. Santana, J. Naylor, N. Lowe, probably others.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 15, 2024
Yankees, Cubs still in staring contest over Cody Bellinger trade
At least the Yankees didn't make the same mistake they did back in 2021, relieving the Twins of Josh Donaldson's salary and allowing them to pay a Yankee target, Carlos Correa, instead. This time, the Yankees forced the Cubs to pay the largest prospect/MLBer trade package they could offer for Kyle Tucker, providing them zero salary relief in the interim.
Now, if Chicago refuses to budge, the Yankees could pivot to a number of options, including both Pete Alonso and Santander, two parties with whom mutual interest was reported over the weekend. The Cubs? If Seiya Suzuki has no interest in DHing, as has been reported, then Tucker's addition creates a minor logjam.
“Seiya was a great defender in Japan,” his agent Joel Wolfe noted last week, “so it’s not a compliment to him being a DH.”
Will the Yankees help Chicago relieve that burden? Probably, in the end. But the Cubbies had better pay up.
