The New York Yankees have brought back one of their best players from the 2025 team.

Cody Bellinger has agreed to a five-year, $162 million contract. The contract includes a no-trade clause and two opt-outs. The opt-outs are scheduled for after the 2027 and 2028 seasons, but can be moved back in the event of a 2027 lockout.

Bellinger had one of his best seasons ever in 2025. He finished 14th in American League MVP voting with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs. 

Bellinger was drafted by the Dodgers in the 2013 MLB draft. He made his debut in 2017. He made the All-Star team and won National League Rookie of the Year.

2019 was by far the best year of his career. He led the NL with an 8.7 WAR. He was named the National League MVP at the end of the season. 

The next three seasons were riddled with injuries and inconsistency. After the 2022 season, Bellinger was non-tendered by the Dodgers.

The Chicago Cubs picked him up in the offseason. He had a strong bounce-back season with 26 home runs and 97 RBIs. The Cubs signed him to a three-year extension.

After the first season of this new deal, he was traded to the Yankees. He provided them with much-needed lineup protection for Aaron Judge and played great defense at all three outfield spots and first base. 

He opted out of the final year of his contract. After much negotiation, the Yankees and Bellinger came to an agreement.

The Yankees will enter spring training with largely the same roster as last season. Every hitter projected to make the Opening Day roster was on last season’s roster. The Yankees will likely need Bellinger’s versatility since they have several players who deserve playing time. 

New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger is expected to become a free agent this winter, according to a report by ESPN’s Jorge Castillo.

The outfielder currently has a $25 million player option for the 2026 season. However, Bellinger is not expected to stay in the Bronx and could join free agency in the upcoming offseason.

The 30-year-old is set to join four other Yankees in free agency: relievers Devin Williams and Luke Weaver, outfielder Trent Grisham and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

The Yankees’ season came to an end on Wednesday after losing Game 4 of the ALDS against the Toronto Blue Jays. It’s now the 16th straight season where New York has failed to win the World Series, having last won in the 2009 campaign.

Bellinger joined the Yankees last winter after spending two seasons with the Chicago Cubs. Prior to Wrigley Field, the outfielder spent six seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he helped the team win the 2020 World Series.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are non-tendering outfielder and first baseman Cody Bellinger.

While the move will allow him to become a free agent, the team could still re-sign him.

The former NL MVP winner’s estimated salary would have been in the $18 million range.

The decision to not tender Bellinger could be for a couple of reasons.

The Dodgers don’t feel that he is worth around $18 million and/or it has its eye sights set on bigger moves.

For example, the Dodgers are now reportedly expected to at least make a play for Aaron Judge.

In addition to letting Bellinger go, the Dodgers are no longer responsible for the contracts of David Price, Kraig Kimbrel, Tyler  Anderson, Andrew Heaney, as well as Trea and Justin Turner.

That frees up $100 million, according to MLB insider Jon Heyman.

Judge will likely get a multi-year deal worth more than $300 million after setting a new AL record with 62 home runs in 2022.

Often in free agency, the Dodgers are willing to spend and make big moves.

Last year, the Dodgers signed one of the top free agents, Freddie Freeman, to a six-year $162 million contract.

And in 2020, the Dodgers traded and signed Mookie Betts to a 12-year deal worth $365 million.

The move by the Dodgers with Bellinger allows them to keep its options open in free agency.

As things stand, the Dodgers have a total of $130.5 million committed to its roster in 2023, according to Spotrac.

The luxury tax threshold is $233 million.

Some other top free agents this year in addition to Trea Turner and Judge include Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander and Carlos Correa.

Expect the Dodgers to look at making a big play at one of the top free agents given what it’s done in recent history.

But this could very well be the end for Bellinger in a Dodgers uniform.

In 2019, Bellinger took home the triple crown for the Dodgers – winning the Silver Slugger, Gold Glove and NL MVP awards.

He has also been a two-time All-Star, won NL Rookie of the Year in 2017 and helped the ball club win the world series in 2020.

But he hasn’t been the same player since then.

Last year, he slashed just .210 .265 .389 (batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.)

On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers were within five outs of going down 0-3 to the Atlanta Braves in the best-of-seven of the NLCS. The game seemed lost as the Dodgers were about to fall into the abyss known as a 3-0 series deficit.

Then out of a sudden, in the eighth inning, Cody Bellinger gave new life to the Dodgers’ season with a three-run homer against Luke Jackson that tied the game 5-5. One out later, Mookie Betts doubled home Chris Taylor to give the Dodgers a 6-5 lead that would stand as the final score of the game.

“In the moment, it’s loud and you don’t really hear anything and you don’t really see anything,” Bellinger said. “Rounding second, I saw the boys in the dugout giving me the celebration, so I had to do it back. Just pure joy and just glad I could tie up the game right there to give us a chance.”

Bellinger’s series-altering three-run homer came on a 96-mph fastball that was well above the zone.  Instead of taking the pitch for ball two, Bellinger sent it flying 399 feet to right-center, and in doing so, he erased a 5-2 deficit with one swing.

“We were dead in the water,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

After Taylor singled and stole second against Jesse Chavez, Betts delivered the knockout punch with a shot into the right-center gap. Taylor’s stolen base became a larger problem for the Braves as the ensuing batter, Matt Beaty, hit a grounder that could have otherwise been an inning-ending double play.

“That stolen base right there is huge,” Betts said. “It got other guys up to the plate and gave us two more chances instead of one.”

The Dodgers have an outstanding record of 13 for 13 in stolen bases this postseason ─ no other team has more than seven steals this October ─ and they’re the first team with multiple stolen bases in four straight postseason games since the 1995 Mariners.

Even though game three was an ugly loss for the Braves, they still have a 2-1 series lead against the Dodgers. Historically, teams with a 2-1 lead in a best-of-seven have gone on to win the series 70 percent of the time. The odds are still in the Braves’ favor; however, if Tuesday’s game is indicative of something it’s that the Dodgers still have some fight in them.

The next two games will be played in Dodger Stadium, and the Braves have lost 11 of their last 12 games in Chavez Ravine.

Major League Baseball’s opening day has already brought us one of the most confusing moments that could transpire all year long.

The moment occurred during a play in the third inning of the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers game. It was the top of the third inning, Justin Turner was on first base, and Cody Bellinger was at-bat. Bellinger hit the ball that drove to left-center field, and the Rockies’ left fielder Raimel Tapia leaped up to catch the ball, but it appeared to go over the fence for a home run.

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It looked to be a normal two-run home run, but it confused all the players. Turner believed that the ball was caught for an out, so he ran back to first base. As Turner ran back to first base he passed Bellinger, who gestured to him to run back. As a result of the confusion, Bellinger was now ahead of Turner, and Bellinger was ruled out.

The reason that Bellinger was called out goes back to rule 5.09(b)(9). The rule states that a base runner is out if he passes the lead runner. In this case, Turner was the lead runner since he was already on first base when Bellinger was at bat. After Bellinger made contact, he became the trailing runner. As soon as he passed Turner on the base paths, the rule states that would automatically be called out.

The umpires spent some time discussing the confusing play but eventually made the right call.

As a result, Bellinger was ruled out at the first base. While it might have been disappointing that he was not credited with a home run, he still produced an RBI single. The Rockies went on to defeat the Dodgers 8-5 in the first game of the season.

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On Wednesday, the 2020 World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers and Walker Buehler avoided a salary arbitration hearing by agreeing to a two-year, $8-million contract. The arbitration hearing was scheduled for Thursday.

The Dodgers have already avoided arbitration with star outfielder Cody Bellinger, 2020 World Series MVP Corey Seager, lefty Julio Urias and reliever Dylan Florio. Bellinger agreed to a $16.1 million deal in 2021 and Seager agreed to $13.75 million for this season.

In Buehler’s case, if he makes regular starts this year and wins a Cy Young Award, his deal could escalate beyond $12.12 million. Not only that, Buehler gets a $2 million signing bonus and salaries of $2.75 million in 2021 and $3.25 million in 2022.

According to The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal, based on starts, his 2022 salary can increase by $3 million to $6.25 million and $500,000 for each 14, 16, 18, 20, 24 and 28.

Hypothetically, Buehler’s 2022 salary would increase by more than $1.2 million if he wins the 2021 Cy Young Award, or by $625,000 if he is second or third in the 2021 NL Cy Young voting.

Buehler, 26, was the Dodgers’ ace and helped them win their first World Series title since 1988 in 2020. In 2019, Buehler went 14-4 with a 3.26 ERA. During the 60-game abbreviated regular season, Buehler went 1-0 with a 3.44 ERA over eight starts. In the 2020 postseason, the right-hander went 2.0 and posted a 1.80 ERA over four starts.

Buehler was eligible for arbitration for the first time, after earning $233,518 in prorated pay in 2020 from a $603,500 salary. He has 2 years, 168 days of major league service, and will be eligible to hit the free-agent market after the 2024 season.

Los Angeles is the MVP city this year apparently, as the Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger and Angels’ Mike Trout have won the MVP awards for their respective leagues, MLB announced on Thursday.

Bellinger received 19 of the 30 first place votes, with 10 second place votes. Trout received 17 of 30 first place votes.

Only in his third year in the league, Bellinger averaged .305 with 121 runs, 47 home runs and 115 RBI. He has now won the NL Rookie of the Year, become a two time All-Star, Silver Slugger award winner, Golden Glove, and MVP in only three seasons. He is one of four players to win the Rookie of the Year award, Golden Glove and MVP before the age of 25 (Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, Fred Lynn, and Dustin Pedroia are the others).

Last year’s winner, Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich finished with 10 first place votes. He finished batting .329 with 44 home runs, 97 RBI and 100 runs in a season shortened at the end by injury. Newly minted World Series winner Anthony Rendon got the last place vote with a .319, 34 HR, 117 R, and 126 RBI stat line.

Trout, who also finished his season early due to injury, batted .291 with 34 home runs, 110 runs, 104 RBI’s in only 470 at bats and led the league with a .438 on base percentage (he was on base 44% of the times he went to bat!). All five of the top MVP vote-getters were in the top five in OBPs.

This is Trout’s third MVP award, winning also in 2012 and 2016. At 28, he is an eight time All-Star with a list of awards too long to list. Yet unlike the other teams that the MVP candidates represent, the Angels are the only ones with a losing record. In the history of the MLB, the MVP has been typically given to a player of a playoff-bound team.

The second most first place votes in the AL behind Trout was Houston Astros’ Alex Bregman, whom many had predicted was neck and neck with Trout for the award. Bregman batted .296, 122 R, 41 HR, 112 RBI for the World Series-bound Astros. He got a World Series ring his second year in the league. He has improved his offensive numbers in almost every catergory since he entered the league in 2016.

The MLB All-Star Game is set in Cleveland this year at Progressive Field for the first time since 1997. All the greatest players in MLB will showdown in a laid-back but competitive game at 7:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

For the National League team, Christian Yelich starts at left-field, despite injuring his back before the All-Star break and missing the Home Run Derby. Javier Baez from the Chicago Cubs starts at shortstop, while Atlanta Braves Freddie Freeman starts at first. Cody Bellinger starts at right-field opposite of Yelich, while Ronald Acuna Jr. starts in the center, the second Braves player in the starting lineup. Nolan Arenado and Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks complete the infield. Pittsburgh Pirates Josh Bell is the DH, while Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Hyun-jin Ryu starts on the mound, the second Dodgers player in the starting lineup. His manager, Dave Roberts is set to manage the team for the second year running.

For the American League, Houston Astros‘ Justin Verlander starts on the mound, while his teammates Michael Brandtley starts at left-field, George Springer on his opposite and Alex Bregman on third base. Jorge Polanco is surprisingly the only Minnesota Twins starter in the All-Star Game, starting at shortstop. New York Yankee duo DJ LeMahieu and Gary Sanchez start at second base and center field respectively, while Los Angeles Angles Mike Trout starts in the center. Boston Red Sox J.D. Martinez is set at DH, while Carlos Santana starts at first base. Defending World Series champion Alex Cora of the Red Sox is set to manage the AL team.

SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019- IN MEMORIAM SLIDESHOW 

“I don’t quite throw 100 anymore. Maybe I’ll try (Tuesday), I don’t know,” Verlander, the starting pitcher for the AL team said, according to USA Today. “But the goal is to get guys out. That’s it.”

There are 36 first-timers in this All-Star Game, including Santana, Polanco, Acuna Jr., Ryu and Bell in the starting lineups. The 90th All-Star Game will be broadcasted on FOX and can be streamed on the FOX Sports app and FuboTV.

A 14-year-old girl jumped from the stands at Dodger Stadium on Sunday to run into the outfield and give Cody Bellinger a hug during a Los Angeles Dodgers game against the Colorado Rockies.

“At first I heard the crowd cheering, and I looked to my left and saw this chick recording with her phone. Running,” Bellinger said, according to NBC Los Angeles. “She came up to me and said ‘I want a hug.’ She gave me a hug, and then as she gave me a hug a security guard tackled her.”

Bellinger knew the Dodgers’ fans code of conduct rules on going to the field during a game, which leads to immediate ejection and possible prosecution. The outfielder wanted to let the public know that he wasn’t exactly a massive fan of the altercation and wished that it wouldn’t happen again.

SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019- TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

Oddly enough, that wasn’t the only extracurricular moment that happened Sunday for Bellinger. During Bellinger’s at-bat, he hit a line drive foul ball that struck a fan in the head during the first inning.

“It was weird. It’s the first time I think I’ve hit a fan,” said Bellinger, according to NBC Los Angeles. “I saw it literally hit her face. That was tough. I just tried to regroup. I’m sure it was tough for everyone.”

Bellinger went to make sure the fan was alright and she reassured him with a thumbs up. She was later taken to a nearby hospital however, for precautionary measures and expects to be in full recovery.

The Dodgers are currently first in the NL West with a 54-25 record, the most wins in the National League and the MLB. They hold a 13-game lead against the Rockies, who are second in the NL West. The Dodgers are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have been dominant at Dodger Stadium, winning 34 games and losing just nine. They are currently on a six-game win streak coming into their next series against the Arizona Diamondbacks this week.

Although it remains roughly a month away, the large interval separating today and the MLB All–Star Game hasn’t stopped fans from casting votes, hoping to promote their favorite player’s claim to participate at this year’s mid–summer classic.

As the news illustrating the current leaders during this year’s All–Star voting surfaces, the players listed as potential All–Stars will likely shuffle about, as the reports aim to only promote further voting as the deadline nears. However, this update forecasts the current players riding along the right track as they near a potential trip to Cleveland.

With that said, the current American League leaders are as follows:

C–Gary Sanchez (NYY), 1B– Luke Voit (NYY), 2B– Tommy LaStella (LAA), SS–Jorge Polanco (MIN), 3B– Alex Bregman (HOU), DH– J.D. Martinez (BOS), OF– Mike Trout (LAA), George Springer (HOU), and Austin Meadows (TB).

The National League position holders currently include:

C– Wilson Contreras (CHC), 1B– Josh Bell (PIT), 2B– Ozzie Albies (ATL), SS– Javier Baez (CHC), 3B– Nolan Arenado (COL), OF– Cody Bellinger (LAD), Christian Yelich (MIL) ,and Ronald Acuna (ATL).

Bellinger highlights the National League squad, totaling up a league–high 1,189,380 votes. Meanwhile Trout’s 737,107 mark adds up to declare him the American League’s most voted player. Newly-acquired Phillies slugger Bryce Harper positioned outside the All–Star scoreboard brings forth perhaps the ordeal’s biggest surprise, as although his numbers warrant no All–Star consideration, his popularity amongst the fans designate him as an expected All–Star candidate. Harper, along with others currently treading water on the outside looking in, need not worry. However, the All–Star Game’s new voting format allows more players to sneak into the affair than ever before, as it now consists of multiple phases where the field simply narrows as the voting proceeds.

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Perhaps longing to hold onto his position more deeply than all else stands Bell, as his potential All–Star start would be the first by a Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman since 1956. While Bell maintains a slim lead ahead Anthony Rizzo, other players such as Voit, Meadows, and Polanco cling to marginal advantages as well. Simultaneously, players such as Joc Pederson, Jose Altuve and Gio Urshela closely nip at the heals of those currently winning their position’s race.

With the MLB All–Star ballot accessible, fans still possess the capability to inflict their will upon the game’s starting roster. The initial voting phase is set to end at 4 p.m. EST on June 21. The All–Star Game itself begins July 9.

The MLB Rookie of the Year Awards were handed out on Monday night, and Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger were the unanimous AL and NL winners, respectively.

AL and NL Rookie of the Year Awards Winners News

Judge is the ninth Yankee to win the award. Derek Jeter was the last Bomber to win it in 1996.

The 25-year-old right fielder is having an excellent year that includes winning an AL Silver Slugger award, the Home Run Derby and a rookie-record 52 homers — a mark that passed former record-holder Mark McGwire’s 49 homers more than 30 years ago.

“It’s quite an honor,” said the 6-foot-7, 282-pound Judge after the announcement was made Monday night.  “I’m still sitting back trying to think about what happened this first year. It’s been quite a journey — from battling in spring training, to the highs and lows throughout the season, the run we had, coming up short. You dream about playing your first year in the big leagues, and I wouldn’t change a thing. It was an incredible year.”

Judge — a Fresno State product — also led all AL players in runs (128), walks (127) and strikeouts (208). Judge finished second in the AL in RBI (114) while triple-slashing .284/.422/.627.

Bellinger, like Judge, was the favorite in his league to win the award. He smacked an NL rookie record 39 homers this season. He hit .267/.352/.581 overall.

This is the second straight season a Dodgers player has won Rookie of the Year unanimously. Corey Seager did it in 2016.

Judge beat out Boston’s Andrew Benintendi and Baltimore’s Trey Mancini for his award, while Bellinger beat Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong and Pirates first baseman Josh Bell.

Here is the full schedule for the rest of this week’s MLB Awards ceremonies:

BBWAA Manager of the Year Awards: Tuesday, Nov. 14, 6 p.m. ET, MLB Network

BBWAA Cy Young Awards: Wednesday, Nov. 15, 6 p.m. ET, MLB Network

BBWAA Most Valuable Player Awards: Thursday, Nov. 16, 6 p.m. ET, MLB Network

Esurance MLB Awards: Friday, Nov. 17, 8 p.m. ET, MLB Network

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 16: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees hits a 3-run home run during the fourth inning against the Houston Astros in Game Three of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 16, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)