Yankees Should Sign Cody Bellinger Now
PLUS: ANDRUW JONES MERITS IMMEDIATE INSTALLATION IN COOPERSTOWN
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Shohei Ohtani may be a two-way star but he’s topped 131 innings in a season only once despite 86 games started. In contrast, 120 pitchers have had multiple seasons with at least 131 innings since Ohtani's debut in 2018, according to Stathead . . .
Unless he’s traded next July, Will Smith’s string of playing for three straight world champions is over. The 34-year-old lefty reliever has left the Texas Rangers to sign a one-year, $5 million deal with the Kansas City Royals, where he began his career. He had a club-high 22 saves for Texas in 2023 but also blew five saves . . .
The Royals are also after starter Marcus Stroman but would need to outbid several contenders, including the incumbent Cubs . . .
One former Cubs pitcher not in demand is Frank Schwindel, a first baseman whose 35.1 mph pitch that turned into a Kyle Higashioka homer June 12 was the slowest ever recorded in the Statcast era, dating back to 2015 . . .
Although Dusty Baker hasn’t accepted any of multiple offers to ghost-write his autobiography, a movie on his life is apparently in the works . . .
The Phillies were phoolish to defray Bryce Harper’s request for a contract extension until after Shohei Ohtani’s deal probably doubled Harper’s price.
Leading Off
It Is Time For The Yankees To Get Bellinger?
By Paul Semendinger
The Yankees have been very active in their off-season thus far. The sense is that they are far from done. The next target for the team seems to be starting pitching, especially because, to many, it seems like their outfield is set with Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Alex Verdugo filling the starting spots - along with slick fielding Trent Grisham in reserve.
That looks like a formidable outfield, but, at the same time, it also presents two big question marks.
First, the outfield defense is not great. This set-up lacks a full-time center-fielder. The consensus is that Aaron Judge will spend a lot of time in center. Based on the fact that Judge is getting older and he doesn't have the cleanest of injury histories, that isn't ideal.
Second, while there is debate over the best way for Juan Soto and Aaron Judge to be listed in the batting order (should it be Soto then Judge, or Judge before Soto?) the bigger question is which player should follow that dynamic duo. Who is the big hitter to protect the Yankees two best sluggers?
I have the answer. It's Cody Bellinger. The Yankees should now sign Cody Bellinger.
Bellinger solves the issues articulated above — and more. He is a terrific center-fielder. He would patrol the position in 2024, keeping it warm for the eventual return of star prospect Jasson Dominguez, hopefully in late 2024, but more likely in 2025.
Bellinger is also a top hitter who would slot in magnificently behind the second player of the Yankees new slugging duo (Soto and Judge). In addition, the Yankees' current first baseman, Anthony Rizzo, is only signed for 2024. If Bellinger becomes a Yankee, he could slot in as the first baseman in 2025. And Bellinger would serve as insurance in case Dominguez isn't ready for prime time in 2025.
Acquiring Bellinger would also allow the Yankees to trade, from strength, for pitching help. The Yankees seem to be front-runners for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It would be great to see him in pinstripes. But, if they fail to land Yamamoto, the likes of Alex Verdugo, Trent Grisham, and Everson Piereira (among others) could be used to acquire a top pitcher for the rotation.
The only reason against the Yankees adding Bellinger is the cost, but I believe that the recent Shohei Ohtani signing changes all the metrics. Completely. Absolutely. And totally. I believe teams such as the Yankees have much more to spend than everyone seems to realize.
And, I do not think Cody Bellinger will cost as much as many believe he will. First, his market seems soft. The original projections I read of a 12-year deal seem way off the mark. The Yankees just might be able to get Bellinger for four or five years — which would be ideal. Assuming Bellinger might command $25 million annually, let's take a look at how the Yankees can offset that cost.
MLBTR projects Alex Verdugo's 2024 salary at $9.2 million. Trent Grisham is projected at $4.9 million. Both of those players would be expendable if the Yankees acquire Bellinger. Together they will account for $14.1 million in 2024.
Bellinger thusly wouldn't be costing the Yankees an extra $25 million, his actual increase in salary to the team would only be $10.9 million. It's my opinion that he would be well worth that upgrade cost.
Projecting into 2025, the Yankees would then shed Anthony Rizzo's $17 million salary (there is a $6 million buyout) making Bellinger from 2025 forward less expensive than the combined salaries of Rizzo, Verdugo, and Grisham.
But, if the Yankees felt that they needed additional salary relief next year, with D.J. LeMahieu and Oswald Peraza (and Oswaldo Cabrera), they still have an abundance of infielders who could cover second and third base.
If the Yankees went in that direction, they would also be able to trade Gleyber Torres and his projected $15.3 million salary. This would prove more than enough financial flexibility to sign Bellinger and possibly even sign a player such as Gio Urshela to play third base (allowing LeMahieu to be a full-time second baseman).
Cody Bellinger solves a host of problems for the Yankees.
He gives them a legitimate center-fielder. He provides another big bat in the lineup. Bellinger gives the Yankees insurance that will allow Dominguez to get back to the big leagues without being rushed and, when the time comes, he can also slot in very well at first base. Finally, he gives the Yankees some solid big-league players who they can trade to restock the farm system or (my preference) help to add to the starting rotation for next season.
To me, this seems like the move to make.
Hey, Yankees — get it done!
Paul Semendinger runs the Yankees site Start Spreading the News. He has authored numerous award-winning books. From Compton to the Bronx, which Paul wrote with Yankees great Roy White, was just named one of the Best Baseball Books of 2023 in Sports Collectors Digest.
Cleaning Up
Andruw Jones Deserves Hall of Fame Berth
By Dan Schlossberg
Only five outfielders in baseball history have won 10 or more consecutive Gold Gloves.
Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, and Ken Griffey, Jr. are already enshrined in the Hall of Fame gallery, with Ichiro a lock to follow when he becomes first-ballot eligible for the Class of 2025.
That leaves Andruw Jones as the only man whose Cooperstown future remains undecided.
That’s a travesty — and it’s on the uninformed writers who vote in the annual Baseball Writers Association of America election.
Long-time Braves player and coach Terry Pendleton swears he once heard Mays tell Jones at the batting cage that he was the best center-fielder he’d ever seen. “I’m like, ‘Oh, my goodness, did I just hear what I just heard?’”
To Pendleton, a former MVP and Gold Glover himself, that endorsement spoke volumes.
“I still watch his highlights — everything he did in the outfield and at the plate as well,” says Atlanta center-fielder Michael Harris II, an Atlanta native who grew up watching the Curacao product perform. “I know what he’s done and what he did at a young age so I guess I kind of relate in a way. I wouldn’t say I modeled myself after him but some pieces of my game are comparable.”
Harris, who won NL Rookie of the Year honors at age 21, was a Gold Glove finalist in 2023 and made a memorable, game-ending play in the Division Series against Philadelphia.
He was 4 years old when Jones was runner-up to Albert Pujols in the 2005 National League MVP voting. “He wasn’t a bad role model,” Harris said.
Jones, the youngest man to homer in a World Series, was also the youngest (along with Gene Tenace) to connect in his first two Fall Classic at-bats.
He hit 434 regular-season homers, 51 of them in 2005. That was an Atlanta club record before Matt Olson hit 54 during the 2023 campaign.
But it’s his defense that stands out. Braves Hall of Fame pitchers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz insist he’s the greatest center-fielder they ever saw. So does the oldest living Hall of Famer, a former center-fielder named Willie Mays.
Advanced defensive metrics from FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference.com rank Jones at the head of the class — even ahead of Mays.
“The defensive metrics are off the charts,” says Hall of Famer Chipper Jones, whose 19-year career overlapped with Andruw’s. “Not only was he a premier defensive guy but he hit in the middle of one of the best lineups in baseball for a long time.”
Metrics show Jones finished with some 50 more Defensive Runs Saved than Mays and 30 more than rifle-armed right-fielder Roberto Clemente, another Hall of Famer. In addition, Mays, Griffey Jr., and Mike Schmidt were the only players other than Jones to collect at least 10 Gold Gloves and 400 home runs.
Andruw drew 58.1 per cent of the Hall of Fame vote last year but needs 75 per cent for election. Todd Helton and Billy Wagner, who finished ahead of him, are considered good bets for election this cycle, along with first-timers Adrian Beltre and Joe Mauer. Former manager Jim Leyland, picked by the Baseball Eras Committee that considered non-players who made their mark in 1980 and beyond, is the lone Class of 2024 member thus far.
Jones would have four years of eligibility remaining if he doesn’t get in this year.
Some voters, citing his .254 career batting average, may hesitate to check his name on their ballots. But a late-career dropoff didn’t hurt Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn, or Phil Niekro, to cite three other Braves legends who reached Cooperstown via the writers’ vote.
“If it does go to the Veterans Committee,” Chipper Jones insists, “he’s going to be a shoo-in.”
That’s how Fred McGriff went in, as part of the Class of 2023, after never garnering more than 39.8 per cent from the baseball writers. Incumbent Hall of Famers invariably populate the voting committees.
Andruw Jones made his big-league bow at age 19 and spent 12 seasons in Atlanta. During a 10-year window with the team, he averaged 34 homers, 103 runs batted in, and 158 games played. Not to mention that highlight-film defense.
“The bottom line is he’s going to get there,” says Chipper of Andruw, whose No. 25 was retired by the Braves just after Labor Day. He is already in the team’s Hall of Fame.
“I told him to get his speech ready,” Chipper insists, “because the next one’s going to be in Cooperstown. And the retired number is a nice little addition to the facade at Truist Park.”
Other numbers retired by the team belong to Dale Murphy (3), Chipper Jones (10), Warren Spahn (21), John Smoltz (29), Greg Maddux (31), Phil Niekro (35), Eddie Mathews (41), Hank Aaron (44), Tom Glavine (47), and manager Bobby Cox (6).
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is national baseball writer for forbes.com and contributor to Memories & Dreams, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Sports Collectors Digest, and Here’s The Pitch, among other outlets. His e.mail is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia
A young reporter once said to Hank Aaron, “Mr. Aaron, they gonna give Eddie Mathews a night. You ever had a night?” The reply was instant: “Son, I have a night every game I get a hit.”
One of this year’s Hank Aaron Awards — given annually to the best hitter to each league — goes to Ronald Acuña, Jr., unanimous winner of the National League’s MVP award . . .
Acuña just beat Yasiel Puig — yes, that Yasiel Puig — in the Venezuelan version of Home Run Derby . . .
In awarding the 2025 All-Star Game to Atlanta, a red-faced Commissioner Rob Manfred confessed to his mistake of stripping the Midsummer Classic — and a planned tribute for the just-deceased Hank Aaron — from Truist Park in 2021.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.
I believe the Dodgers swept the Yankees in 1963