Brian Cashman Reveals Sneaky Advantage Yankees Have With Cody Bellinger Trade

Bellinger is set up for a monster year at the plate even more than you might think.

Josh Wilson | 5 Hours Ago

Bellinger celebrates after hitting a three-run home run / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

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As Cody Bellinger transitions from Wrigley Field to Yankee Stadium, the former MVP hopes he can return to the form of an elite slugger once more. Of course, the Yankees certainly hope that, too, with a need to backfill the chasm Juan Soto—who signed as a free agent with the New York Mets—leaves in their lineup offensively.

Bellinger's offensive trajectory has been up-and-down throughout his career, peaking at 167 (67% better than the average batter in terms of OPS+) in his MVP year, 2019, and falling as low as 44 (64% worse than the average) in 2021. He ascended back to elite levels in 2023 when he slashed .307/.356/.525 with the Cubs in 2023, but he regressed in 2024 at .266/.325/.426. Though no one expects him to be a one-for-one Soto replacement, Soto slashed .288/.419/.569 with the Yankees last year (67 OPS+ points better than Bellinger).

A massive, much-publicized advantage the Yankees have for left-handed batters is a short porch in right field. The wall there is as short as 314 feet from home plate.

General manager Brian Cashman made an astute observation speaking to the media, though, in that the Yankees actually get that dimension-based advantage for Bellinger to take advantage of for 87 games: Their own home games but also six road games against the Tampa Bay Rays, which will be played at the Yankees' Spring Training home, George M. Steinbrenner Field.

The Rays will take residence there temporarily for the season after Hurricane Milton damaged Tropicana Field beyond usability for the 2024 season.

A nice home away from home for the Yanks and Bellinger.

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JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.