3 destinations for Cody Bellinger if Dodgers non-tender him

1. New York Yankees

Come on! You had to see this coming. Bellinger to the Yankees has long been a sarcastic comment in the Twitterverse that’s so crazy it just might work.

Now, it’s more realistic than ever — and just a few weeks before Twitter implodes, too. Fitting.

Adding a reclamation project rarely comes with this much upside, but it would also be perfectly understandable if Yankees fans were frustrated by a hypothetical Bellinger move. The slugger’s stock has never been lower (well, maybe after 2021), and adding the ex-Dodger would just be a variation on the team’s typical playbook. Sure, he’s younger. Sure, his peak was higher than most. But bringing Bellinger in still reeks of “Now! That’s What I Call Baseball 2019,” especially now that center field defense is being ably handled by Harrison Bader.

Bellinger in left, Bader in center, Judge (theoretically) in right? If Judge doesn’t return, he could be … replaced by Bellinger, and might bolt for the Dodgers himself? It’s a less than ideal scenario for Yankee fans, but you have to imagine Brian Cashman has been just as seduced by Bellinger as Andrew Friedman has.

And that’s why it probably won’t happen after all. Because he’s staying. He’s staying, right?