(Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)Jon ConahanThu, January 15, 2026 at 3:11 AM UTC·2 min readThe New York Yankees are in a weird spot with Cody Bellinger, and frankly, it’s tough to say he should get the money he’s looking for.
Some are starting to call him out, and they’re spot on.
Former MLB executive Jim Bowden isn’t buying the idea that Bellinger deserves a longer or bigger contract than the top players who have already come off the board this winter.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn fact, Bowden believes that Bellinger is out of touch with his market, and it seems like he’s right.
“However, if it is true, this demand is ridiculous. Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman all got five years and have been way more consistent over the last five seasons than Bellinger. In addition, a year ago the Cubs had to pay down Bellinger’s salary in order to trade him to the Yankees. I understand that he’s had injuries in his career, but he still slots in after Schwarber, Alonso and Bregman in the pecking order of free agents.
“That said, he’s coming off a strong 5.1 bWAR season with 29 homers and an .813 OPS, and he can play all three outfield positions, as well as first base, above-average. However, that contract length is too risky based on his track record,” he wrote.
Bowden’s argument is that Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, and Alex Bregman all settled for five-year deals despite being better players, in a sense.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementI guess we can say that only Bregman is, but Alonso and Schwarber have such ridiculous power that there’s definitely an argument for Bellinger not being better than them.
Bellinger, on the other hand, is really good, but he wasn’t some star with the Yankees. We also have to factor in some of his play with the Chicago Cubs and the back part of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
At the end of the day, the market is the market, so if someone is willing to pay him, that’ll be what happens. However, I don’t believe any team will come close to his asking price. If they were going to, it’d probably already have happened.
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