After much speculation, the New York Yankees have made another trade, this time with the Chicago Cubs. The New York Yankees have acquired outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger and $5 million in exchange for starting pitcher Cody Poteet, per multiple sources. ESPN’s Jeff Passan is reporting $2.5 million of the money will cover part of Bellinger’s 2025 salary while the remaining $2.5 million will either cover his buyout if he does not exercise his player option or part of his 2026 salary. Let’s take a closer look at this trade and what it means going forward.
New York Yankees Trade for Cody Bellinger
The New York Yankees have essentially found their outfield replacement for Juan Soto as it is being reported that Cody Bellinger has been told he will be used as the team’s center fielder going forward, pushing Aaron Judge back to right field. With the $2.5 million sent in the trade, the New York Yankees are responsible for $25 million on their books this season, meaning they are projected to have $280 million of payroll this season now. Bellinger also has a player option for $25 million for the 2026 season for the final year of this contract.
This deal could possibly be the last big deal the New York Yankees make after signing starting pitcher Max Fried and trading for closer Devin Williams as well. This is the first bat that the team is adding and should do well at Yankee Stadium in this lineup. Last season, Cody Bellinger finished with a .751 OPS with 18 home runs, 78 RBIs, and nine stolen bases in 11 attempts. He also has really improved on his strikeout number as he had 45 walks to 89 strikeouts over 130 games.
This salary dump by the Chicago Cubs really helps the Yankees be more of a threat and adding the 2019 NL MVP to their lineup helps. It also helps by adding another left-handed hitter with experience in the playoffs as he won the NLCS MVP Award in 2018. This is a significant improvement for the New York Yankees lineup after the departure of Juan Soto, but there still are questions in either first or second base. Will they add another player like Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt, Christian Walker, or Carlos Santana at first base or add a second baseman? Brian Cashman still has space for moves and did not give up any prospects in this deal.
