After losing out on the Juan Soto sweepstakes, the New York Yankees have pivoted and acquired outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger and $5 million from the Chicago Cubs per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. In exchange, the Cubs acquire right-hander Cody Poteet.

Bellinger, 29, has been informed that he will be playing center field for the Yankees and will fill an immediate hole for the Yankees after Soto moved to Queens with the New York Mets. The former Rookie of the Year and MVP rose to prominence with the Los Angeles Dodgers becoming one of the top players in the league through his first couple of seasons. In 2017 he smashed 39 home runs with a .933 OPS and in 2019 batted .305/.406/.629 with 47 homers.

However, his production began to decline through his final years in Los Angeles after dealing with injuries sustained in the 2020 World Series. He struggled to find work after the 2022 season after batting .210/.265/.389 with 19 home runs in 144 games. He ultimately settled on a one-year contract with the Cubs in 2023 and rebounded nicely with a .307/.356/.525 slash line with 26 homers and 20 steals in 130 games to win the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2023.

He again tested the waters of free agency following the 2023 season but finding the market a bit lackluster for his desired contract, re-signed with the Cubs on a three-year, $80 million contract. He appeared in 130 games for the Cubs but his production declined to a .266/.325/.426 with 18 home runs in 569 plate appearances, 13 more than the previous season.

Bellinger is certainly no longer the power-focused player he was in his earlier years, partly due to the shoulder injuries. While he is still prone to deliver close to 20 home runs, he is a far more contact-oriented hitter at the plate. 2024 saw his hard-hit rate fall at 32.9% while his ground ball rate sat at 37%. His vision at the plate has remained consistent at league average, despite have a 10% walk rate through his from 2017-2020. His strikeout rate has been below league average at 15% the last two seasons.

Still, his bat won’t replicate the production of Soto, but he is still a quality left-handed bat to help balance the Yankees lineup and replace southpaws like Anthony Rizzo and Alex Verdugo. His pull profile will play at Yankee Stadium and may enjoy a rebound offensive thanks to the presence of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton in the lineup.

Defensively the Yankees are receiving an upgrade, or at least a reliable glove. Bellinger was well known for his defensive early in his career and while his metrics haven’t been as strong since 2021, he still is around league average in most metrics. He posted a -1 DRS in 2024 with the Cubs and was worth 0 Outs Above Average and -1 Fielding Run Value. So by all measures, he’s not a net negative in the outfield and is measured favorably by Statcast. Should the Yankees need it, he is also capable of filling in at first base but most critics suggest that is a waste of his postive outfield prescence.

Bellinger is owed $27.5 million for 2025, and he has a $25 million player option for ’26, with a $5 million buyout. The Yankees will receive $2.5 millon per year over the course of the two years of his remaining contract. He is just the latest aggressive move by the Yankees who have been busy, acquiring reliever Devin Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers and signing Max Fried in free agency.

The trade was expected for the Cubs after they acquired Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros last weekend. Bellinger became the most expendable partly due to his contract but also because of the presence of younger players like Pete Crow-Armstrong who emerged as a viable center field option.

Cody Poteet, 30, had a brief stint in the Yankees in 2024. He tossed 24 1/3 innings across five games, including four starts, posting a 2.22 ERA with 18 strikeouts against eight walks. During the minor league season in 2024, Poteet made 13 starts to the tune of a 3.40 ERA. He gives the Cubs a flexible option of using him as a depth starter or find him a role in the bullpen.