Cody Bellinger is back with the Yankees

It's a done deal.

After months of waiting, the New York Yankees have reached an agreement with Cody Bellinger to keep the left-handed hitter in the Bronx for the rest of his career.

He will earn $162.5 million over five years (slightly more than the rumored $160 million), or $32.5 million per year. He has exit options in two and three years (which will be postponed if there's no baseball in 2027) and a $20 million signing bonus.

Bellinger also has a no-trade clause and no deferred money in the deal. The announcement was made while Bo Bichette was being introduced by the Mets at a press conference.

Cody Bellinger's deal with the Yankees is for five years and $162.5 million, sources tell ESPN. There are opt-outs after the second and third season, a $20M signing bonus and a full no-trade clause.

– Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 21, 2026

According to Bob Nightengale, the veteran will earn $85 million within two years ($20 million bonus, $32.5 million in 2026 and 2027 thereafter) the way the contract is structured — if the 2027 season is completed, of course.

So even if Bellinger didn't get the seven-year contract he wanted, he's still getting an interesting deal in many ways. To me, it's a fair deal for a guy who's been inconsistent for years.

The Yankees and Scott Boras must have been just desperate enough to need this deal. But maybe he's going to age badly anyway.

So the Bombers managed to keep their 2025 outfielder, as Trent Grisham also agreed to a contract to return to the Bronx in 2026. This was important for the club because Bellinger had been excellent in New York in 2025.

In other words, the last big domino fell among hitters who were free agents. And of the six big hitters on the market, none agreed to sign with Boston or Toronto.

Eugenio Suarez and Luis Arraez are the other big names still available.

Going into the offseason, I was convinced that both the Red Sox and Blue Jays would add a big bat, so it's pretty surprising that neither landed one of Bregman, Bichette, Schwarber, Alonso, Tucker, or Bellinger.

– Brandon Wile (@Brandon_N_Wile) January 21, 2026

This content was created with the help of AI.