SPANISH HARLEM – I had this article written about how the New York Yankees’ offseason was underwhelming – and as I finish my article… I get a message on my phone that they retained Cody Bellinger for 5 years and $162.5 million. It seems more money was added after an initial offer of 155 million, and while it’s not a boatload of money, we got him for the amount of acceptable years I thought was reasonable. This has been the one domino that needed to fall for the Yankees to continue adding to the roster.
While Bo Bichette and Kyle Tucker were overpaid on short term deals, I think Belly actually got what he was worth. The money may be a bit more than anticipated but it was in the ballpark of what he was speculated to get. Anything more than 5 years could have made this a bad contract. I still think he can be a good to great player on this team, though his consistency from year to year is something we have to look out for. We all saw how bad DJ LeMahieu turned out after his big contract so I’m hoping we can 3-4 years of consistent production and I will be happy.
This brings me back to Trent Grisham, who the Yanks don’t really need with Cody on board but at least it’s only for one year. What it does is make revamping the roster a lot more difficult, so it’s on Cashman to fill out the roster with the best players possible to compete for a championship. They still need a 1 or 2 relievers that they can trust in big situations, though they have been great at developing relievers in the minor leagues. Ryan Weathers, who I didn’t know existed until last week, was a depth pick up for the starting rotation and has potential upside if he can remain healthy, which has been an issue for him.
It’s hard to believe they will miraculously turn their offseason around, but they still have time to save face and make this team better. They will need a couple of standout years from players not named Aaron Judge, whether from the players they have or the players they add. The pitching should be solid enough to make this an interesting season, but they do come with questions marks. Maybe they trade Jasson Dominguez or Spencer Jones to make this team stronger, though I would hate to lose out on home grown talent.
All in all, this is the one moment this offseason where the Yankees got what they wanted.
That’s it for now, please come back tomorrow for more great content from Jackson Sternberg.
And now for something entirely different:
