Before the Yankees head into the All-Star break, they’ve got one more series against the Chicago Cubs. The big news is Carlos Rodon making his long-awaited team debut on Friday. But could it also be a preview of what it’d look like if Cody Bellinger called Yankee Stadium home?
General manager Brian Cashman has been trying to find a way to fill New York’s hole in left field since the offseason. Attempts to acquire Bryan Reynolds didn’t work. And thanks to injuries at various times this year, the Yankees have had to dive deeper into their outfield depth chart than they would’ve ever imagined.
Jake Bauers, Billy McKinney, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa have done what they could with the opportunities presented to them. But still, you better believe the Bombers are on the hunt for another outfielder at the trade deadline.
That’s where Bellinger comes into play. After a solid start, the Cubs head into their matchup against New York with a 40-46 record. That has them as potential sellers at the August 1st trade deadline. Bellinger is currently playing on a one-year, $17.5 million deal, which also includes a mutual option for 2024.
He’s missed some time with injury, but after a couple of rough seasons, his play has rebounded. In addition to his typically solid defense, Bellinger is hitting .298/.352/.486 with eight home runs, 28 RBI, and 41 runs scored in 233 plate appearances.
That kind of offensive production would look nice in the Yankees’ lineup, right? Oh yes — especially whenever Aaron Judge returns from his toe injury. MLB Trade Rumors has listed Belli as one of their top deadline trade candidates. NJ.com’s Randy Miller also reported this earlier in the week:
An MLB scout recently told NJ Advance Media that Bellinger could be a good fit in a Yankees’ lineup that struggled to consistently score runs even before 2022 AL MVP Aaron Judge was lost in June to a toe injury that still has him sidelined.
We’ll see how things progress over the next couple of weeks. After all, a lot can change over a short period of time. The Mets were 10 games out in the Wild Card race a few days ago, but they’re entering Friday’s games just 6.5 games behind. Before they take the field in the Bronx, Chicago is seven games back of the final NL postseason spot.
Regardless of whether the Cubs actually become sellers or not later this month, it won’t stop the rumors. Heck, if Juan Soto to the Yankees somehow got revived on the Twitter machine this week, anything is possible.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
