Yankees Will Have to Get Creative With Cody Bellinger Pivot

The Mets are still in pursuit of Cody Bellinger, even with their most recent acquisition of Bo Bichette. That should put a damper on things for the New York Yankees, who have dedicated their entire off-season to him.

It should come as no surprise that the team owned by billionaire Steve Cohen won't just stop at one move, especially during an off-season where Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Diaz, and Jeff McNeil have come off the books.

The Mets have some room to play with. They also have an owner who is always willing to spend, as evidenced by Juan Soto and their attempt to acquire Kyle Tucker.

Free Agency

With Tucker gone and Bichette off the board, the pivots for Bellinger are bad on the free agency market. There may only be one slugger who can replicate his bat. Eugenio Suarez is the best hitter behind Bellinger, and for now, the Yankees have Ryan McMahon locked in at third.

Suarez could play first base. They could shift Ben Rice in at catcher and have Austin Wells play backup, but that seems like a lot for a player who won't recreate the magic of his walk year.

A Creative Trade

Another route the Yankees can go down is the trade path. There is one particular deal they can draw inspiration from. Unfortunately, it's more traumatizing for fans to bring up, but it's less the results of this trade that matter and more the way they went about it.

Before the 2022 season, the Yankees were still without a shortstop. Then they made a trade in spring training that turned out to be a one-stop shop for the team. They traded Gio Urshela and Gary Sanchez to the Minnesota Twins for Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Josh Donaldson, who had run down ace Gerrit Cole the year before. Minor leaguer Ben Rortvedt also came in the deal.

With IKF, they thought they got their shortstop. With Donaldson, they felt they had a power-hitting corner infielder. After spending the winter passing on an elite shortstop class, Brian Cashman believed these two would bridge the gap to Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza.

The trade ended up bombing. Peraza made emergency starts in the ALCS because IKF couldn't field ground balls, and, after a weird racist jab at Tim Anderson, calling him Jackie, in reference to Jackie Robinson, Donaldson forgot how to hit.

Potential Trade Examples

The Yankees get an A for creativity, even if the results were worthy of an F. Plus, it doesn't help that Volpe hasn't lived up to expectations, and Peraza was quietly sent to the Angels during the most recent trade deadline.

Even with how poorly that deal went, it feels plausible that the Yankees can do something like that again. An extreme example of this would be with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers are potentially looking at dealing their ace Freddy Peralta in the way they did with Corbin Burnes. What if the Brewers also sold high on Christian Yelich in that deal?

Oct 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich (22) reacts after striking out against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the sixth inning during game three of the NLCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Yelich is currently entering the seventh year of his extension. He will earn $23,000,000 through 2028, with a mutual option for 2029. He also has a full no-trade clause, so he would have to okay the trade.

Yelich has been up and down since signing that deal and has also dealt with injuries. Overall, since then, he has hit .263/.362/.427, and last year, his first full season since 2023, he hit .264/.343/.452.

His peripherals were decent last year as well. Yelich was in the 40th percentile in xBA, 62nd in xSLG, 55th in Average Exit Velocity, 62nd in Barrel Rate, and 66th in Hard Hit Rate.

Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton and center fielder Christian Yelich — Aug 22, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) is congratulated by center fielder Christian Yelich (21) after his home run during the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Is there also a universe where the Yankees trade for Tarik Skubal, which would be amazing, but improbable, then also take on Javier Baez's salary, which would subsequently be a nightmare? Sure, but what does that hellscape look like if Skubal leaves in free agency for the Mets or Dodgers after an early exit to another American League East rival?

Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal celebrates striking out Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh in the sixth inning of ALDS Game 5 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Neither idea is great. Though, attaching Yelich with Peralta is more palatable than receiving Javier Baez, but in these scenarios, it's less about Yelich and Baez and more about the idea. The Yankees will have to get creative, since owner Hal Steinbrenner has decided they are financially a tier below the Dodgers and Mets, with no concrete evidence to this but his word.

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