Ahead of the 2026 season, the New York Yankees were expected to make a big decision surrounding the support of their captain Aaron Judge, in the outfield.
The biggest name on the free agency market this offseason was Kyle Tucker, and the Yankees were one Tucker’s top landing spots. Ultimately, the Yankees decided to go a different route, re-signing outfielder Cody Bellinger to a five-year, $162.5 million contract over a month before Tucker found his home in Los Angeles.
Now that the season just about halfway through and Judge is sidelined for the next two months, is Bellinger the right fit for the Yankees outfield? Or would Tucker have fit in better during the Yankees tumultuous stretch of the season?
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Cody Bellinger Emerges As Better Signing Over Dodgers’ Kyle Tucker
Chris Kirschner of the Athletic wrote back in October that Kyle Tucker should be the New York Yankees’ no. 1 target in free agency. However, several months into a season where the Dodgers got Tucker and the Yankees kept Bellinger, Kirschner admits he was wrong.
“Months before they re-upped Bellinger, I wrote that I believed Kyle Tucker should be the Yankees’ No. 1 free agency target,” Kirschner wrote. “My thinking was Tucker had been the more consistent player; you could basically pencil him in as a 4- to 5-WAR player. The Yankees needed a co-star for Judge, and Tucker was the best player on the market and likely the best offensive player available until the 2028 offseason. By that time, Judge will be 36, and who knows if he’ll still be in his prime.”
“In the offseason debate between Bellinger and Tucker, we were ultimately deciding between two elite profiles,” Kirschner stated. “But one player has separated himself this year, and it was not the one I thought would be the pick.”
Bellinger is slashing .273/.373/.476 with an OPS of .849 this season. He has a 138 wRC+ on the season, a 3.5 bWAR second only behind Bobby Whit Jr., and MLB-leading 15 Defensive Runs Saved in left field.
Out in Los Angeles, Tucker is not having himself quite as impressive of a season considering the hefty four-year, $240 million contract he signed. In 62 games, Tucker is slashing .236/.332/.384 with an OPS of .716, marking the lowest splits of his career thus far.
Bellinger has Tucker beat in every stat line other than runs and doubles, while also striking out 16 less times than Tucker.
While the season is still young, Bellinger’s on-base improvement and impact on a banged up Yankees’ roster has seemed to prove better fit than Tucker, who is not performing at a high-caliber level.
Thus far, the Yankees have won the contract debate, saving around $77.5 million in total contract value with Bellinger on the roster.
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Cody Bellinger’s Time With the Los Angeles Dodgers
Out of Hamilton High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, Cody Bellinger was drafted to the Los Angeles in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB draft. Four years later, Bellinger made his MLB debut and secured the 2017 National League Rookie of the Year.
Bellinger broke the NL rookie home run with 39, before Pete Alonso shattered the record two years later.
Before they were teammates, Bellinger and Judge were the unanimous NL and AL Rookie of the Year, and even squaring off in the Home Run Derby.
Bellinger’s best season was in 2019 where he became the first Dodger in history to win MVP, Silver Slugger, and a Gold Glove in one season. He slashed .305/.406/.629 with an OPS of 1.035.
Bellinger won a World Series with the Dodgers in 2020, before signing with the Chicago Cubs in 2023.
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