New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger will be testing the waters of free agency, according to ESPN.
After having an overall solid year in The Bronx, Bellinger has gone on record saying that he enjoyed his time with the Yankees and could see himself returning to play in Pinstripes once again.
However, it appears the 30-year-old will see what the market wants for him first before returning to his spot hitting after Yankees superstar and captain Aaron Judge.
Judge and Bellinger have become close in their one year together, with Judge saying publicly that he’d like his teammate to return.
After the Yankees’ elimination in the ALDS to the Toronto Blue Jays, Judge called for both Bellinger and fellow outfielder Trent Grisham to re-sign.
‘Grish and Bellinger, two guys that had incredible years,’ Judge said after the game in a clip posted by SNY on X. ‘It was fun to watch them, fun to learn from them. I hope we can run them back and see what happens.’
New York Yankees star outfielder Cody Bellinger will test the free agent market in 2026
Bellinger (R) has become a top player for New York and a strong teammate for Aaron Judge (L)
It’s unclear what Grisham’s future plans are, but Bellinger’s return would be a welcome one for the Yankees.
After a slow start, Bellinger finished the season batting .272 with 29 home runs across 152 games. He also provided a much needed defensive spark in left field.
The Yankees acquired Bellinger in a trade with the Chicago Cubs after they signed outfielder Kyle Tucker in free agency.
It was a great move by the Yankees, considering the California native and former National League MVP would be their second-best player behind Judge according to advanced metrics.
Yet, in the postseason, Bellinger only managed six hits on 28 at bats with one home run and two doubles.
That one homerun was a nothing burger to put the Yankees on the board after surrendering 12 straight runs to the Blue Jays in Game 2 of the ALDS.
In the final series alone, Bellinger only managed three hits in 16 at-bats with the aforementioned home run in Game 2 and two hits – including a double – in Game 3.
It meant that the Yankees would fail to repeat their reign as American League champions.
