Yankees are prepared for Cody Bellinger's departure

Cameron Belcher

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Yankees are prepared for Cody Bellinger's departure image

Free agent Cody Bellinger remains unsigned after concluding his first season with the New York Yankees, after spending two seasons with the Chicago Cubs.

Bellinger is one of the hottest free agents still on the market, as many other notable players have decided where they'll play baseball next season.

Usually, the longer a marquee player takes to re-sign with their current team, the worse the chances are for that team to retain them. The latest example of this occurred on Saturday, when first baseman Alex Bregman signed with the Cubs after being on the market for a while.

More: MLB Hot Stove tracker: Live updates on news, rumors, signings and trades for 2025 free agency

Yankees are preparing for the worst case scenario

The Yankees are heading toward a scenario in which Bellinger finds himself on another team this upcoming Spring.

On Sunday, ESPN's long-time insider Buster Olney reported that the Yankees are moving under the assumption that Bellinger will sign elsewhere, and this comes after talks between the two parties were ending.

This comes after New York probably feels as if it gave its best offer to re-sign the former World Series MVP, as it was confirmed the team offered Bellinger a five-year deal worth $30 million per year, matching the contract all-star slugger Pete Alonso received from the Baltimore Orioles last December.

New York will now look into exploring options for signing the top remaining free agents, Bo Bichette and Kyle Tucker, and with the Blue Jays and Orioles building their teams for the better, the Yankees need to acquire talent such as Bichette or Tucker to keep pace in the AL East next season as they want to get back to the World Series stage.

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Senior Editor