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. 

A team once known for big-time spending makes its first addition of the offseason, and it’s not exactly the type of move you’d expect.

The New York Yankees acquired pitcher Ryan Weathers in a trade with the Marlins. The Yankees gave up four prospects, Brendan Jones, Dillon Lewis, Dylan Jasso and Juan Matheus. Three of these prospects were ranked among the Yankees’ top 30. 

If you look at Weathers’ numbers alone, this may seem like an overpay. Weathers had a 3.99 ERA in 2025 and has a 4.93 ERA in his career. 

Control has always been an issue for Weathers. His FIP has never been below four. In 2025, it was 4.60. 

Last offseason, the Yankees also traded for another pitcher with control issues named Fernando Cruz. Cruz was able to iron them out thanks to pitching coach Matt Blake. However, his stuff was significantly better than Weathers’.

The Yankees are in pretty desperate need of some pitching depth. Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt are all projected to start the season on the injured list. That leaves the Yankees with a rotation of Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, Will Warren and a whole lot of question marks.

The Yankees brought back a couple of pitching depth pieces to compete for the final spot. The first was Ryan Yarbrough. Yarbrough made eight starts in 2025 and had a 3.83 ERA in those starts. He got hurt in June and struggled upon returning to the team in September. The second is Paul Blackburn, who joined the Yankees late in the season and had a 5.28 ERA with the team. 

The Yankees could make a play for a top starting pitcher like Framber Valdez or Zac Gallen. If not, these depth guys will prove vital for the Yankees’ season. 

The New York Yankees have lost nine of their last 12 games behind a sputtering offense, including a stretch in which the team went 30 consecutive innings without a run.

Aaron Judge, who ranks first in the MLB in batting average and second in home runs, has dropped his batting average from .390 to .364 during the team’s cold streak.

“I feel quite certain we’re a really good offense. We haven’t gotten some hits. … We’re going to break through and get hot here eventually,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the team’s 5-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

The Yankees led 3-0 going into the seventh inning, before a double from Christian Encarnacion-Strand brought in three runs.

The game went into 11 innings before a single from Gavin Lux brought in two runs, sealing the win for the Reds.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. was ejected from the game between innings following a heated exchange with the umpire on a poor strike call. He finished the game 2-4 with a run scored.

“I got a toss for saying, ‘Why are you looking at me?’ I don’t think that’s a good reason to toss anybody,” Chisholm said.

The Yankees aim to avoid being swept by the Reds on Wednesday and get their season back on track.

The Yankees are 45-34 and sit at the top of the AL East, but hold just a one-game lead on the Tampa Bay Rays.

“We just have to capitalize,” Judge said. “We have to switch it up a little bit, maybe find a way to get that runner over a little earlier. You know, things will be a little different.”

“I’m really happy to know where I’m going to be for the next 15 years.”

So said the biggest offseason story in MLB as he arrived at spring training this week. Since his signing to the New York Mets in December, Juan Soto has continually expressed his confidence in the team and his belief that it was the best place for him to win a World Series.

When asked about Soto’s crosstown move and comments during his introductory press conference, New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge expressed little surprise.

“I wasn’t too surprised by it. I think that’s where he wanted to be. I think that’s where is best for him and his family,” Judge said. “He got a pretty nice deal over there. I mean, you can’t say no to that. But I’m happy for you.”

The Yankees reached the World Series with Soto and Judge in 2024, eventually falling short in Game 5 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. While Judge had a spectacular regular season, he hit a brutal .184 with 14 strikeouts during the postseason and dropped a fly ball that allowed the Dodgers to sneak back into the series winner.

“Definitely coming in hungry, if not hungrier than in years past,” he told reporters. The Yankees have also been bolstered by other big-name free-agent signings – Max Fried, Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams, among others.

The Mets, though, have probably had the second-splashiest offseason in the league (presumptively behind the Dodgers), adding Soto and Clay Holmes, as well as making multiple significant re-signings. Owner Steve Cohen hasn’t been shy about courting acquisitions – or opening his pocketbook – in creating a culture of winning.

When asked about Soto’s belief that the rival Mets were the best place for him to win a World Series, though, Judge cut the thread short quickly.

“That’s his opinion,” he said. “He can say what he wants. I definitely disagree with him.”

Both teams made their respective league championships in 2024. Now, as the ramp-up to the 2025 season begins, we’ll prepare to see whose confidence is proven right.

The past year has belonged to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Sure, they won the World Series in October, overpowering the New York Yankees in just five games and overcoming a deficit that seemed sure to buy the Yankees more time. And, yeah, just over a year ago they signed superstar Shohei Ohtani to a record-setting deal. But the story recently has been their free agency, fueled by a combination of the previous two and the willingness to spend big.

To put the Dodgers’ spending spree in context, they’ve spent over $450 million this offseason alone, including hundreds of millions deferred. Including penalties for exceeding the salary threshold, their payroll for the 2025 season will likely be in excess of $500 million. The Philadelphia Phillies are slated to be second, nearly $100 million behind.

Their free-agent and extension class includes two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, NLCS MVP Tommy Edman, two-time All-Star Teoscar Hernández and highly sought-after pitcher Roki Sasaki. They haven’t stopped adding or signing reliever Kirby Yates to a one-year deal at the end of January.

As the spending continues, so have fan – and club – outcry.

A day after Sasaki’s signing, Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts commented that it was “really hard to compete” with the Dodgers. More recently, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said, “It’s difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they’re doing.”

The Dodgers, Yankees and Cubs represent the three top revenues in the league. They also represent the first, fourth, and tenth highest payrolls for the upcoming season, respectively.

Fan outcry has largely been concentrated around MLB’s lack of a salary cap, a mark that distinguishes it from nearly every other professional sports league. The top and bottom payrolls in the 2024 season were separated by nearly $250 million – the New York Mets clocked in at around $315 million, while the Oakland A’s clocked in at around $62 million.

The Dodgers’ willingness to spend has only made the lack of parity that much more obvious. It is worth mentioning, though, that the highest payroll has won the World Series just two times in the past 15 years. Spending does not by any means guarantee a championship.

“They still have to have a season that’s relatively injury-free for it to work out for them,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s a long season as you know, and once you get to the postseason, anything can happen. We’ve seen that time and time again. We’ll see who’s there at the end.”

After months of anticipation, on Sunday night former Yankees outfielder Juan Soto signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets.

The deal also provides a player opt-out option in year four, which the team would be able to void by adding $4 million every season. The total potential value of the contract comes to a whopping $805 million.

Soto, who finished third in American League MVP voting in the 2024 season, attracted massive interest when he hit free agency Oct. 31. Teams including the Mets, Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays made bids, leading to an agonizing, month-and-a-half long process fraught with rumors and uncertainty – not least for the Yankees, who Soto had guided to the World Series just a couple months prior.

“I’m gonna be available for all 30 teams,” said Soto at the time.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that each of those teams would be lucky to have him. Soto hit .288 / .419 / .988 this past season, with 41 home runs and 109 runners batted in. Even with his questionable outfield defense, he has accumulated over 36 wins above replacement over the course of his career, and is a five-time Silver Slugger and four-time All Star. It was his hitting that made him a sought-after target last year as the Padres looked to trade him, and this year was no different.

Soto signed a one-year, $31 million deal with the Yankees before the 2024 season. That same offseason would see Shohei Ohtani sign his record-breaking 10-year, $700 million deal – although over 90% of the money is deferred until 2033.

This offseason, the Yankees aimed to keep Soto, who had meshed easily with other franchise cornerstones Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole. “I know what’s expected of me,” Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner told reporters.

The team’s final offer for Soto was 16 years, $760 million. It wasn’t cash alone, though, that spurred his decision.

When Mets owner Steve Cohen, worth an estimated $21.3 billion, bought the team in 2020, he promised to boost its payroll. In courting Soto, he hosted the outfielder at two of his personal residences and attempted to create a personal relationship, deviating from the traditional Powerpoint.

On top of that, though, the Mets were aware of certain gripes that Soto had with the Yankees organization.

According to the New York Post‘s Jon Heyman, Soto was allegedly “upset early in the year by an overzealous Yankees security guy who disallowed a family member and his chef/driver from certain areas” – in response, the Mets presented themselves as familiar and accommodating. The Yankees also reportedly refused Soto his own suite (even Aaron Judge and Derek Jeter pay) – meanwhile, Soto’s new contract includes a suite at Citi Field for family.

Soto’s agent, Scott Boras, emphasized Soto’s attention to the commitment of ownership, saying, “[Soto] want[s] to know that besides [him], there’s going to be a great number of support on the part of the owner that he has the same desire to win that [he does]. [He’s] going to commit [his] career to it, and [he] want[s] the owner to commit his resources to it.”

Cohen has shown that he’s willing to go all-in, boosting his team to a top-five payroll in the MLB last season. Those 2024 Mets made a surprise run to the NLCS, beating the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies along the way.

With Soto locked down, they’ll be looking to go further.

The New York Yankees have one objective after falling short in the World Series back in October. Before New York can build on the existing roster, the team must first secure Juan Soto, the 26-year-old superstar left fielder largely responsible for the 2025 postseason run. 

What happens if they fail?

Sources differed this week in identifying the Yankees’ Plan B. Some rumors suggested that the team would target Willy Adames, the 29-year-old free-agent shortstop that jolted the Milwaukee Brewers back into the postseason in 2024. Others reported that the team might target Max Fried, the former Braves ace who missed much of last season with an injury.

The truth is that the Yankees could likely target both players — and a few others — with the money they would save by missing out on Soto. In any case, the mixed reports seem to point to the consensus argument that New York has needs in several areas. After a light path to the World Series through the American League, the team was exposed badly by a superior Dodgers team in the World Series.

The Yankees’ rumored interest in Fried suggests that the front office is acutely aware of the shaky nature of its starting rotation. Beyond Gerrit Cole, who returned from an injury over the summer and flourished in the second half, things were touch-and-go for the Bombers on the bump. Rookie Luis Gil struggled late in the season, while Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes were either missing or ineffective most of the year. Fried is a premium solution to a minor problem, but it would put it to rest if both aces stayed healthy.

Fried isn’t the only high-end starter available in free agency. Blake Snell is already off the table, but Corbin Burnes is still available and reportedly in the early stages of negotiations with New York, among other teams. Several teams are also trying to trade for White Sox ace Garrett Crochet. The heavy-spending Yankees would likely rather snag a free agent, but Crochet would be a valuable acquisition in the right deal.

The interest in Adames, meanwhile, is painfully intuitive. The Yankees’ infield was woefully inadequate at the plate and in the field in 2024. Shortstop Anthony Volpe was not the worst offender in either respect, but his hitting was inconsistent, and the quality of his glove will be best remembered for a disastrous error in Game 5 of the World Series. Judge and Soto combined to form a monstrous duo of outfielders last year, but adding Adames would be a balanced move that would significantly boost the team’s infield quality.

The Yankees’ path through this off-season has an obvious fork in the road, as the team’s funds will naturally be more limited if it re-signs Soto. If New York fails to do so, however, it could open up a world of possibilities in which the team would lose a massive part of the lineup but gain opportunities to improve in other areas.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will take on the New York Yankees in the Fall Classic, which begins on Friday.

The Dodgers ousted the New York Mets in six games on Sunday, as manager Dave Roberts and his team return to the World Series for the second time in five years. It has not been a linear path for Los Angeles this season as they dealt with starting pitching injuries to four of the top five members of their rotation, fell behind 2-1 to the San Diego Padres in a best of five, and 1B Freddie Freeman dealing with an ankle injury. However, Roberts’ genius managing of the bullpen and Shohei Ohtani’s ridiculous ability to hit with men on base propelled the Dodgers to win the National League pennant. Since L.A. owns a better record than the Yankees, they will get four games at home, the first and the last two.

Meanwhile, the Yankees breeze into the World Series after defeating the Cleveland Guardians in five games and the Kansas City Royals in four during the division series. Their bats have come alive as Giancarlo Stanton won ALCS MVP with five home runs in nine playoff games, and Juan Soto cranked a three-run homer in the 10th inning of game five to send the Yankees to the next round.

On the bump, Florida State alumni Luke Weaver silenced the doubters of the New York bullpen, becoming the defacto closer and recording two saves in the Championship Series. In recent memory, the Bronx Bombers have struggled in the playoffs, and this is the first WS appearance for the Yanks since they won it in 2009.

All games will be on Fox starting at 8:08 E.T. Gerrit Cole is scheduled to take the ball for New York, while Jack Flaherty is probable for Roberts in game one. Hard Rock Bet gives the Dodgers a slight -120 chance to win the World Series.

The New York Mets completed their second two-game sweep of the New York Yankees Wednesday night, taking the fourth and final Subway Series game of 2024 in dominant 12-3 fashion. As the Mets rallied behind a white-hot offense, the Yankees suffered yet another categorical failure in a once-hopeful season.

After falling to the Mets 3-2 on Tuesday night, which included shaky reliever Jake Diekman striking out likely A.L. MVP Aaron Judge to earn the save, the Yankees anticipated a momentum swing Wednesday. Reigning A.L. Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole was facing off against Sean Manaea, giving the Yankees a decided advantage.

At first, they seemed to be well on their way. Gleyber Torres hit a solo home run off Manaea to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead. Meanwhile, Cole retired the first eight Mets batters he faced. Mets outfielder Tyrone Taylor eventually broke through with a solo shot of his own, but Juan Soto quickly responded with his own homer, giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead going into the fourth inning.

Then the dam broke. The Mets scored 11 unanswered runs in an offensive barrage. Cole ended the night allowing six runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings. Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos both hit home runs, and Francisco Lindor hit one from each side of the plate. Every single Mets batter reached first in the game, and Brandon Nimmo was the only that did not do so with a hit.

Jeff McNeil stayed hot with two hits and Taylor, who has been struggling in recent weeks, finished the night 3-for-5. Taylor is now 6-for-9 with two home runs in his career against the Yankees ace.

“I was focused on being ready for the heater,’’ Taylor said after the game. “I’m thankful to have success off him.”

While the Yankees have struggled immensely in the past two months to squeeze production out of hitters not named Judge or Soto, the Mets have slowly built one of the deepest lineups in the league. In Wednesday’s game, the Yankees got two total hits from players batting fourth to ninth. The Mets got nine, including three home runs and six RBIs.

With a 53-48 record, the Mets exited the game with sole control of the second N.L. Wild Card spot, completing a sudden turnaround that began when the team was 11 games under .500 in May. The Yankees, on the other hand, are still 60-44 but have gone 15-25 in their last 40 games. The team has lost control of the A.L. East division to the Orioles and is slowly losing ground in the Wild Card race as well.

For many, the Mets are still not yet a serious playoff contender, as the team still has questions to answer concerning the starting rotation and bullpen. But through sustained offensive firepower, the Mets have managed to rebuild themselves this summer and put management in a position to buy at the trade deadline. In four victories against the Yankees in 2024, they scored 36 runs.

The Yankees, once World Series contenders after an extremely hot start, are slipping into obscurity despite holding one of the best records in baseball. The team has not recovered from injuries to Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton, and while the lineup has frozen over, the starting pitching has regressed as well. The front office is still preparing for an active trade deadline, but there seem to be too many holes to plug.

“Nobody has higher expectations than us in that frickin’ room,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the Subway Series sweep. “We’re pissed off. We got to play better. This has gone on long enough. It’s very frustrating to go through. But I also know we’re competing our asses off. We just got to make sure we continue to walk in with the right level of edge and willingness to compete because no one’s going to pull us out of this but us.”