New York Yankees

Despite rumors to the contrary, the New York Yankees haven't settled on center field as Cody Bellinger's position after acquiring him from the Chicago Cubs.

Speaking to reporters during Max Fried's introductory press conference on Wednesday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone called reports that Bellinger will be their starter in center "fake news."

Center, left field and first base are all options for Bellinger.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported after the trade on Tuesday that Bellinger was told he would be playing in center field, moving Aaron Judge back to his normal spot in right.

It seemed like a strange move to immediately put Bellinger in center. That is an unsettled position for the Yankees going into 2025, but top prospect Jasson Domínguez is poised for a regular role now that he is healthy following an injury-plagued 2024 that limited him to 76 games between the minors and majors.

The Yankees could also use Domínguez in left field, slotting Bellinger in at center. Bellinger isn't a great defender in center field at this stage of his career, but he's not so bad that it would be embarrassing to have him out there.

General manager Brian Cashman still has to make at least one more move this offseason to fill out the roster. Bellinger's versatility gives the team options, but they will need either another outfielder or first baseman.

The Yankees have been connected to the top four remaining free-agent first basemen—Christian Walker, Pete Alonso, Carlos Santana and Paul Goldschmidt. If they sign one of them, Bellinger will likely be a permanent fixture in the outfield.

Regardless of what position Bellinger settles in at, the key is the Yankees added a much-needed boost to their lineup after losing Juan Soto. He alone won't replicate the production Soto provided last season, but pairing him with someone like Walker or Alonso would at least get them closer to where they were in 2024.

Bellinger hit .266/.325/.426 with 18 homers in 130 games for the Cubs last season. His 18 homers would have ranked fourth on the 2024 Yankees, behind only Aaron Judge (58), Soto (41) and Giancarlo Stanton (27).

It was quite the lucrative offseason for pitcher Max Fried.

The southpaw agreed to an eight-year, $218 million deal with the New York Yankees, and Jon Heyman of the New York Post provided the contract details Tuesday. Notably, it features a signing bonus of $20 million and a full no-trade clause:

While Fried is slated to make $29 million a year for the final six seasons of the contract, the number is significantly lower at $12 million for 2025 and 2026. That gives the Yankees a bit more financial flexibility, which is notable since they also added Devin Williams and, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan, Cody Bellinger this offseason.

New York losing Juan Soto to the crosstown Mets was surely a blow, but Fried, Bellinger and Williams represent formidable additions.

Fried gives the Yankees quite the one-two punch in their rotation alongside Gerrit Cole, especially if he reaches his ceiling during the course of this deal.

His resume includes a World Series title, three Gold Gloves and two All-Star selections during his first eight seasons with the Atlanta Braves. He finished in second place in Cy Young voting in 2022 with a 2.48 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 170 strikeouts in 185.1 innings, although injuries limited him to 14 starts in 2023.

That put him under the spotlight in 2024, but he bounced back as an All-Star with a 3.25 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 166 strikeouts in 174.1 innings.

Fried turns 31 years old next month and should remain quite effective over the majority of this deal. He may even be better in the immediate future than he was during his All-Star campaign in 2024 as he becomes further removed from his injury-shortened 2022 season.

New York is hoping that is the case as it attempts to take the next step after losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series last season.

Even if the offense takes a step back without Soto, the pitching staff will be even better with Fried. That could make the difference between a title run and an early exit come October.

New York Mets right-hander Clay Holmes is excited to be a starter again after pitching out of the bullpen for the last six seasons.

"I didn't want to look back at the end of my career and say, 'Man, what could've come from that?'" Holmes said during his introductory press conference over Zoom on Tuesday (h/t Joe Pantorno of amNewYork. "It's something deep down I had a passion for, and it excited me."

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com relayed more of Holmes' remarks on the matter:

Holmes, a ninth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2011 MLB draft, started in the minors for almost all of his time in the minors before getting the call-up to the bigs in 2018.

He started four games for the Pirates during his rookie season but didn't fare well, posting a 7.80 ERA in those matchups. Holmes moved to the bullpen full-time in 2019 and encountered his fair share of struggles, but a 2021 midseason trade to the New York Yankees reignited his career. In three-plus years with the Yanks, the ex-closer had a 2.69 ERA and 74 saves.

After the 2024 season, Holmes signed a three-year, $38 million contract, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Obviously, this will be a big transition for Holmes, who has never thrown more than 70 innings in his big league career. His biggest workload was in 2016, when he threw 136.1 innings over 26 starts.

"The biggest thing is just monitoring. It's hard to put numbers on things… I don't so much believe in that," Holmes said, per Pantorno. "There are things you need to monitor and see how your body is holding up… My intention going in is to throw 160 innings. I want to throw as many innings as I can. Obviously, you want to do that safely."

Holmes joins a Mets rotation that also includes Frankie Montas, who joined the team on a two-year, $34 million deal after starting for the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers last year. Kodai Senga serves as the ace, with David Peterson and Paul Blackburn also in the mix.

The New York Yankees have acquired first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger from the Chicago Cubs, per ESPN's Jeff Passan, who provided more details.

Jack Curry of YES Network added that the Cubs are throwing in $5 million.

Passan provided more notes on that $5 million.

Bellinger is set to earn $27.5 million in 2025, but he has an opt-out after next season. If he picks up his 2026 option, then he'll earn $25 million in 2026.

Prior to the Bellinger move, Cot's Contracts listed the Yankees with a projected 40-man year-end labor relations payroll of $240,318,047 and a projected 40-man competitive balance payroll of $260,615,667.

With the Bellinger move, the Yankees' pre-luxury tax payroll should be around $265.3 million in 2025, although that's before New York makes any other moves.

Of note, the team should still be in the market for corner infielders. It's unclear what the luxury-tax payroll will be, but the Yankees are going to be subject to a 50 percent tax rate on all overages above $241 million for the 2025 season.

In addition, there's also surcharge thresholds for teams that are $20 million or above the luxury-tax threshold, starting with 12 percent ($20 million to $40 million).

So the luxury-tax payroll is very much so in flux, but the Yankees are going to be opening their wallets there.

Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Bellinger will be playing center field for the Yankees, moving American League MVP Aaron Judge to right field.

Here's how the Yankees' lineup could look post-Bellinger, with a hat tip to FanGraphs' Roster Resource. Note, again, that they should still be in the market for first and third basemen and that this is subject to change.

Yankees Starting Lineup

1. SS Anthony Volpe

2. 2B Jazz Chisholm

3. RF Aaron Judge

4. CF Cody Bellinger

5. DH Giancarlo Stanton

6. C Austin Wells

7. LF Jasson Dominguez

8. 1B Ben Rice

9. 3B Oswaldo Cabrera

Bellinger, 29, is a two-time All-Star who hit .266 (.751 OPS) with 18 home runs and 78 RBI for the Cubs last season. The 2019 NL MVP and two-time Silver Slugger is entering his ninth MLB campaign and now joins a team his father, Clay, played for from 1999-2001.

It seemed like Cody Bellinger was heading back to the Chicago Cubs for the 2025 season when he exercised his player option in November.

Not so fast.

Chicago reportedly traded the veteran to the New York Yankees on Tuesday, per ESPN's Jeff Passan:

Jack Curry of YES added more context:

According to Jim Bowden of CBS Sports, Bellinger will play center field and Aaron Judge will move to right field. That said, Bellinger can play either center or left field, in addition to first base, and the Yankees believe he "would give the team above-average defense at all three spots," per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

While it isn't surprising the Cubs decided to trade Bellinger given the rumors circulating this offseason, there were plenty of suggestions doing so would not be easy.

Rosenthal reported in November, "While rival executives say the [Cubs] want to trade first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger, they also note the difficulty the team likely will face pulling off such a move."

Rosenthal explained that Bellinger "secured a remaining guarantee of $32.5 million—$27.5 million in salary, $5 million in potential buyout—by choosing to remain with the Cubs rather than opt out."

What's more, he also has a $25 million player option for 2026 he can opt into, making the contract even more expensive.

"Come on," a general manager told USA Today's Bob Nightengale in November. "Who's going to touch that contract? The risk is just too great for the production."

Nightengale painted a picture of a Cubs team that was overly concerned with its financials as the front office looked to trade Bellinger instead of attempting to negotiate with marquee free agents such as Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Max Fried or Blake Snell.

That was surely frustrating to Chicago fans considering Forbes ranked the franchise as the fourth-most valuable in the entire league for 2024. Yet it seemed like keeping payroll in check was a priority even after missing the playoffs last season.

However, that tone changed some when they acquired Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros via trade earlier this month. Suddenly, there wasn't an obvious fit for Bellinger in the lineup with Tucker, Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki as the outfielders/designated hitter and Michael Busch at first base.

That likely increased the front office's motivation to move Bellinger even more.

While his overall production may not live up to the contract, Bellinger is still a talented player who should be a formidable addition for the Yankees.

His versatility on defense stands out, as he played first base, center field and right field for Chicago during the 2024 campaign. That allows him to remain in various lineups even when managers look to mix-and-match based on opponents.

There was also a time when Bellinger was among the best offensive players in the league, as he took home the 2017 National League Rookie of the Year and 2019 NL MVP during his time on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite a drastic downturn from 2020 through 2022, he also bounced back nicely in his first season with the Cubs in 2023.

Bellinger slashed .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs, 97 RBI and 20 stolen bases as a Silver Slugger winner in 2023.

He was not as effective last year at .266/.325/.426 with 18 home runs, 78 RBI and nine stolen bases, but he still proved he can impact the game in a number of ways and serve as a solid piece in the lineup.

Yet the Cubs decided to trade that production away, so Bellinger will look to revitalize his career once again for a New York team that will be looking for a combination of players to help make up for the lost production of Juan Soto.

Prior to being sent from the Milwaukee Brewers to the New York Yankees in a trade last week, star closer Devin Williams envisioned being on the West Coast.

Williams said in an interview with SNY that he was being told that the Los Angeles Dodgers were in the lead to acquire him before the Yankees reached an agreement with the Brewers.

"To be honest, I didn't really think so. I kinda thought I'd be going to L.A., that was what I was being told," Williams said. "The Yankees snuck in there under the table and got the deal done."

Williams clarified that he was happy to land with the Yankees, who are coming off losing to the Dodgers in five games in their first trip to the World Series since their last title win in 2009.

"It was a bit of a shock, but it's a tremendous honor to be able to play for this organization," he said. "There's no bigger team in baseball, I'm very happy to be here."

Williams is entering the final year of his contract, but he said he would be open to remaining with New York beyond the 2025 season.

"I think if it's right for both sides, that's definitely always an option," he said, per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.

Williams spent the first six seasons of his career with the Brewers and established himself as one of the most dynamic relievers in MLB. He was a two-time NL Reliever of the Year and a two-time All-Star. The 30-year-old said that he wasn't surprised at how his tenure in Milwaukee came to an end.

"As someone that's been there for the last six years, I just understand that's how they operate," he said. "It was kind of expected."

Now, Williams will be a member of a Yankees team that is motivated to make another trip to the World Series. The team also added starting pitcher Max Fried in free agency after losing star outfielder Juan Soto to the New York Mets, so it's clear that the Yankees are going to be aggressive in their pursuits this winter.

The New York Yankees are pivoting to other targets as trade negotiations with the Chicago Cubs over Cody Bellinger have reached a "stalemate," according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

Nightengale reported Tuesday the Yanks are looking at Pete Alonso, Christian Walker, Carlos Santana and Paul Goldschmidt in free agency.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported on Dec. 11 that the Yankees were balking at absorbing most or all of the $52.5 million outstanding on Bellinger's contract.

Of the free agents they could sign in lieu of a Bellinger trade, Alonso would be the most fascinating addition from the group given he has spent his first six seasons with the New York Mets. Poaching him from their crosstown rivals would somewhat soften the blow of getting outbid for Juan Soto.

The four-time All-Star and Walker are presumably at the top of the Yankees' wish list based on their 2024 production.

Alonso hit 34 home runs and slugged .459 and that was a somewhat down year by his usual standards. Since debuting in 2019, he has yet to finish with an OPS+ lower than 122, per Baseball Reference.

Walker has been similarly consistent on offense, boasting a .250/.332/.481 slash line over the last three years, and offers additional value on defense. He's the three-time reigning Gold Glove winner at first base in the National League.

The arrival of either player would probably be celebrated in the Bronx.

Goldschmidt or Santana would be a tougher sell due to their age and general decline. Goldschmidt, 37, set career lows in on-base percentage (.302) and slugging (.302) this past season. Santana, 38, has batted just .222 and slugged .388 since his lone All-Star season in 2019.

In addition, opting for a cheaper alternative in free agency wouldn't make for great optics when the Yankees should theoretically have lots of cash to burn after their failed Soto pursuit. They were reportedly prepared to go up to $760 in order to retain the star slugger and they've since pledged $218 million to starting pitcher Max Fried.

Making a competitive bid to Alonso or Walker or simply taking on the entirety of Bellinger's contract shouldn't be too financially cumbersome for New York.

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge did not speak with Juan Soto this offseason because he didn't have Soto's new phone number, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

Soto, who signed a record-setting contract with the New York Mets in free agency, said on Thursday that he hadn't spoken to any of his former teammates since Game 5 of the World Series.

Nightengale reported that Soto had changed his number during free agency, and is now "reaching out to former Yankee teammates."

Getting Soto's contact information this winter reportedly wasn't a problem for Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo.

The New York Post's Mike Puma reported on Thursday that Nimmo "obtained Soto's phone number several weeks ago and texted him" with a plea to join the Mets.

In contrast, Judge has previously said he wasn't involved in the Yankees' efforts to lobby for Soto's return to the Bronx.

Judge told reporters ahead of Game 1 of the World Series that he hadn't discussed free agency with Soto, and later said in November that he and his former teammate hadn't spoken since the end of the postseason.

That apparently hadn't changed by the time Soto inked a $765 million, 15-year deal to join the Mets. The Yankees fell short with their $760 million, 16-year offer and will now have to look elsewhere to rebuild their outfield.