Dodgers fans laughing that Yankees just foot the bill for Cody Bellinger's LA peak

Conversations about MLB payroll and free-agent contracts have lost a little luster ever since the Los Angeles Dodgers broke all conventions to sign Kyle Tucker to a four-year, $240 million contract, but it takes a special kind of desperation to do what the New York Yankees just did.

In the midst of an offseason that featured a trade for Ryan Weathers and a non-roster invite to Paul DeJong as the major highlights, the 2024 runner-up clearly needed to do something big to keep pace with the Dodgers and the rising powers in the AL East. And so, they ... ran it back with the same roster that lost in the ALDS last year?

Yes, the not-so-evil empire re-signed Cody Bellinger to a lucrative $162.5 million contract that includes opt-outs and a full no-trade clause. That's simply the going rate for star players these days — again, the Dodgers just gave Tucker $60 million annually — but it's a little hard to fathom that Bellinger, after peaking six years ago in Los Angeles, was still able to command this type of contract.

Cody Bellinger receives MVP money despite not being an MVP since 2019 with Dodgers

By this point, all LA fans know about the Cody Bellinger saga. A universally acclaimed prospect, he burst onto the scene in 2017, won a Rookie of the Year Award, and helped pilot the Dodgers to back-to-back World Series appearances. He then completely took over baseball in 2019, winning the NL MVP Award on the back of a 47-homer, 8.7 bWAR campaign.

Then, he injured his shoulder celebrating a home run in the 2020 NLCS, and things were never quite the same. A 47 wRC+ in 2021 and an 83 wRC+ in 2022 was all that the front office needed to see before non-tendering the star outfielder.

Admittedly, Bellinger has bounced back nicely with the Cubs and Yankees in the years since, including a 2025 season where he hit .272/.334/.480 while playing excellent outfield defense. He was in an awkward position heading into free agency as the fourth-best player behind the leading trio of Tucker, Bo Bichette, and Alex Bregman, but there was no doubt that someone would pay him good money to serve as a middle-of-the-order threat.

And yet, $162.5 million is a lot for a now-30-year-old slugger whose peak is six years (and running) in the past. If this were the Dodgers version of Bellinger, that salary would look almost like a bargain; now, it's a steep overpay by a desperate franchise.

There's ample time and opportunity for the former MVP to make good on his new deal. He doesn't have to win awards in New York to "earn" the money he'll receive. But as the Yankees attempt to win the same roster that's only grown a year older since they last lost in the playoffs, it's difficult to imagine Bellinger not inviting a little buyer's remorse from a frustrated fanbase.