Yankees Star Could Be Great Backup Plan for Blue Jays in Free Agency

If the Toronto Blue Jays miss out on a top free agent, there is another option who makes a lot of sense.

Apr 7, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New York Yankees baseball hats and gloves in the dugout out in the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. | David Reginek-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays have had a great offseason so far with numerous good additions. However, the team might not be done. 

Coming into the winter, the Blue Jays figured to be a team that was going to be aggressive following just coming up short in the World Series. This is a franchise that was struggling to bring in top talent in free agency in recent years, but that no longer appears to be the case. 

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To start the offseason, the team was able to sign Dylan Cease to a massive contract to become potentially the new ace of the rotation. Furthermore, the team added some more depth to their pitching staff with Tyler Rogers and Cody Ponce. 

Recently, the team targeted lineup improvements with the addition of Kazuma Okamoto. The talented slugger can play multiple positions for Toronto, and his signing could be an indication that the team will be moving on from star slugger Bo Bichette. 

Recently, a lot of the talk has been about Kyle Tucker coming to the Blue Jays. However, a star outfielder from the New York Yankees, Cody Bellinger, could be a great option as well. 

Bellinger Could Be Solid Backup Plan

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While Tucker should undoubtedly be the top choice for the team, Bellinger could be a solid backup plan. In 2025 with the Yankees, the star slugger slashed .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs and 98 RBI. As an excellent defender, there is a lot to like about his game as well. 

Bellinger is not only a good defender, but he also played both center field and left field for New York in 2025. Furthermore, he also has experience at first base, but that wouldn’t be needed if Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 

While the lineup does look strong even without Bichette, they could use some help in the outfield and to replace that level of production. Tucker would arguably make them the team to beat in all of baseball, but Bellinger could also complete what would be a near-perfect offseason on paper. 

Toronto is still seemingly going to be aggressive this winter on one of the remaining star free agents. With it feeling a bit unlikely that they will bring back Bichette following the Okamoto signing, pivoting to one of the outfielders makes sense. If they miss on Tucker, Bellinger can be a great consolation prize for the franchise and help put them over the top. 

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