Yankees Re-Sign Cody Bellinger to Five-Year, $162.5 Million Deal

The New York Yankees are betting big that Cody Bellinger’s Bronx resurgence is built to last.

Bellinger agreed Wednesday to re-sign with the Yankees on a five-year, $162.5 million contract, according to multiple people familiar with the deal. The agreement is pending a physical and includes a $20 million signing bonus, a full no-trade clause and player opt-outs after the 2027 and 2028 seasons.

The contract keeps the 2019 National League Most Valuable Player in pinstripes through at least his age-31 season and locks in a left-handed middle-of-the-order bat who flourished in his first year at Yankee Stadium. It also further loads up an already expensive roster and tightens the squeeze on two of the organization’s most highly touted outfield prospects.

Deal terms: bonus, opt-outs and no-trade protection

Bellinger, 30, was the last of the premier free-agent hitters to come off the board this winter. His deal gives the Yankees a degree of certainty alongside Aaron Judge at a time when the franchise is trying to keep pace with big-spending rivals such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, while living with one of the largest payrolls and luxury-tax bills in Major League Baseball.

Bellinger will receive a $20 million signing bonus on April 1 and annual salaries of $32.5 million in 2026 and 2027, followed by $25.8 million in 2028 and 2029 and $25.9 million in 2030, according to contract details reviewed by people with direct knowledge of the agreement. There is no deferred money in the deal. He can opt out after the 2027 or 2028 seasons and test free agency again, and his full no-trade protection means the Yankees cannot move him without his consent.

The opt-outs contain language addressing the possibility of labor strife. If a work stoppage in 2027 were to wipe out the season, the opt-out dates would shift back a year, preserving Bellinger’s chances to re-enter the market after two or three played seasons in New York.

The structure fits a pattern for players represented by agent Scott Boras: high annual salaries over a medium term, combined with outsized control over future mobility. Bellinger previously signed a three-year, $80 million contract with the Chicago Cubs in February 2024 that included opt-outs after each of the first two seasons. He ultimately earned $57.5 million of that deal and declined a $25 million salary for 2026 in favor of a $5 million buyout to become a free agent again.

Why the Yankees paid up: a strong 2025 in the Bronx

The Yankees’ willingness to outbid the market for Bellinger is rooted in how he performed in 2025.

Acquired from the Cubs in December 2024, Bellinger played 152 games for New York last season and hit .272 with 29 home runs, 98 runs batted in, a .480 slugging percentage and 13 stolen bases. He generated an .814 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and 5.0 wins above replacement by Baseball-Reference’s measure, his most valuable season since his 2019 MVP campaign with the Dodgers.

His production in the Bronx was even more pronounced. At Yankee Stadium, Bellinger hit .302 with 18 home runs and 55 RBIs, numbers that reinforced the front office’s belief that his left-handed swing is particularly well suited to the ballpark’s dimensions.

He also answered questions about durability. After several seasons marked by shoulder and leg injuries, Bellinger avoided the injured list entirely in 2025, appearing in 149 games in the outfield and seven at first base. The Yankees have repeatedly emphasized his defensive flexibility as part of his value, viewing him primarily as a left fielder who can slide to first base as needed.

Market context and the luxury-tax squeeze

Bellinger’s new contract places him near the top of this offseason’s market for hitters, though short of the very highest tier. Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker signed a four-year, $240 million contract earlier this winter, carrying an average annual value of $60 million. Third baseman Alex Bregman agreed to a five-year, $175 million deal with the Cubs. Bellinger’s $32.5 million average value ranks just below Bregman’s $35 million but ahead of recent pacts for first baseman Pete Alonso with the Baltimore Orioles (five years, $155 million) and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber with the Philadelphia Phillies (five years, $150 million).

For the Yankees, the cost is magnified by their position in baseball’s competitive-balance tax system.

Before reaching terms with Bellinger, New York’s projected 2026 payroll stood around $252.8 million, with an estimated luxury-tax bill of roughly $98 million for a club already classified as a repeat offender at the highest tax tiers. Adding Bellinger’s $32.5 million salary pushes the projected payroll to about $272.8 million, and the total outlay including tax obligations is expected to approach $324 million.

In November, managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said it would be “ideal” for the club to carry a lower payroll in 2026 than the approximately $319 million it spent in 2025, but he left open the possibility that winning would take precedence.

“Does that mean that’s going to happen? Of course not,” Steinbrenner said then. “We want to field a team we know could win a championship — or we believe could win a championship.”

The Bellinger agreement underscores that sentiment and comes amid growing discontent among some team owners over escalating top-end salaries. Several club officials have privately complained about contracts such as Tucker’s with the Dodgers and have indicated they intend to press for stricter cost controls or a formal salary cap in the next round of collective bargaining. The current labor agreement runs through the 2026 season.

Roster ripple effects: prospects and trade leverage

On the field, Bellinger’s return clarifies the Yankees’ lineup but complicates their depth chart.

With Bellinger in left field, Trent Grisham in center, Judge in right and Giancarlo Stanton projected as the primary designated hitter, New York’s starting outfield appears set. Rookie Ben Rice is expected to handle first base, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second, Anthony Volpe at shortstop, Ryan McMahon at third and Austin Wells at catcher.

That alignment leaves limited opportunity for Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones, two highly regarded young outfielders who have been viewed as potential long-term fixtures in the Bronx.

Domínguez, 22, played 123 games for the Yankees in 2025 and hit .257 with 10 home runs, 47 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Initially heralded as a future center fielder, he has increasingly been used and discussed as a left fielder. Manager Aaron Boone said late last season that the club still believes in Domínguez’s upside at the position.

“I still really like his ceiling,” Boone said at the time. “We can all envision him becoming a very good defender out there.”

Domínguez has been participating in winter ball in the Dominican Republic to refine his defense and right-handed swing, but Bellinger’s long-term presence in left field could restrict his path to everyday playing time in New York.

Jones, 24, a 6-foot-6 power hitter, is ranked among the Yankees’ top prospects after hitting 35 home runs with a .982 OPS across Double-A and Triple-A in 2025. While evaluators praise his strength and athleticism, some remain concerned about his strikeout rate. With the major league outfield effectively full, Jones may either open the season in the minors or be discussed in trade talks.

Rival executives have pointed to Domínguez and Jones as logical headliners in any potential package if the Yankees seek to upgrade their starting rotation or bullpen through trades. New York has lost some pitching depth to free agency and injuries over the last two seasons.

A shifting winter and what comes next

The timing of Bellinger’s deal also reflects a shifting free-agent landscape. Early in the offseason, the Yankees were mentioned alongside the New York Mets and Detroit Tigers as likely bidders. The Mets, however, turned elsewhere, signing shortstop Bo Bichette to a three-year, $126 million contract and trading for center fielder Luis Robert Jr. on Tuesday to anchor their outfield. The Dodgers, Bellinger’s original club, committed heavily to Tucker and did not re-enter serious talks for their former star.

With Bellinger off the market, most of the top available bats have now signed, and the remaining marquee free agents are primarily starting pitchers. Sportsbooks quickly adjusted their 2026 World Series odds after news of the agreement surfaced, installing the Dodgers as favorites and placing the Yankees with the second-shortest odds.

For Bellinger, the contract continues a family connection to the franchise. His father, Clay Bellinger, was a utility player on the Yankees’ 1999 and 2000 World Series championship teams. For the club, keeping another Bellinger in the Bronx represents a significant financial and roster commitment at a moment when it is trying to end a long championship drought.

How the move is ultimately judged will depend on whether Bellinger’s 2025 performance proves to be the new norm and how the Yankees deploy the young outfielders now standing behind him. What is clear is that New York has again chosen to operate at the top of the sport’s economic ladder, paying heavily — in both salary and tax — to keep a lineup it believes can contend for a title intact.