Yankees’ Cody Bellinger update likely ends any shot at Dodgers reunion

As is the case with most free agents who remain available with spring training quickly approaching, the Los Angeles Dodgers are lurking in the background for Cody Bellinger. The Dodgers were never going to be the team that jumped out and signed Bellinger to the lucrative, long-term contract that has alluded them over the last three years.

Bellinger, due to his struggles with the Dodgers, was forced to take a prove-it deal with the Chicago Cubs in 2023, and while he did earn National League Comeback Player of the Year honors, it wasn't quite enough to convince teams interested in him the following offseason. Teams were skeptical that his offensive skillset had turned a corner, and he returned to Chicago on a team-friendly, three-year deal that had an opt-out after each season.

Two years of Bellinger were enough for the Cubs, who traded him to the New York Yankees in a salary-dump deal after previously trading for Kyle Tucker that offseason. Bellinger proved his swing was perfect for Yankee Stadium, and is now trying to cash in.

The issue is that Scott Boras is trying to position Bellinger as the top free-agent outfielder on the market, and that is derailing his market. The Yankees remain the likeliest suitor for Bellinger, but their talks have reportedly reached an impasse. New York is believed to have an offer on the table with an AAV around $30 million, but their proposal may not go past five years.

Yankees may have just shut the door on Cody Bellinger-Dodgers reunion

Boras remains insistent on Bellinger landing a seven-year deal, and that has led ESPN's Buster Olney to add that the two sides are at an impasse. The Yankees are reportedly pivoting to other targets, giving the impression that they are prepared for Bellinger to be playing elsewhere.

Now would be the time for the Dodgers to enter the picture, but there is almost no logic in that.

The Dodgers had a chance to give a long-term contract to Bellinger after the 2022 season, and they were more than comfortable in letting him walk. Even if they were to do so this time around, it wouldn't make sense for them to shell out that contract for Bellinger and not Tucker. A similar logic can be applied to the short-term structure, assuming that Tucker is still available.

A Bellinger reunion in Los Angeles is fun to say out loud, but like at the start of the offseason, the idea isn't rooted in much reality.