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By Drew VonScio
Contributing Sports Writer
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The New York Yankees have reportedly made multiple offers this offseason to outfielder Cody Bellinger, but the veteran slugger has not accepted any of them.
With just about a month to go before spring training, the Yankees still have a hole to fill in their outfield. Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham occupy the other two spots. While the Bronx Bombers would like to run it back with Bellinger, there are other options if the two sides can't agree to a deal.
Former general manager Jim Bowden didn't hold back on his thoughts about the potential contract Bellinger is asking for.
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"According to industry sources, Cody Bellinger and his agent, Scott Boras, are looking for a seven- or eight-year deal worth somewhere between $210 and $250 million," Bowden wrote for The Athletic. "This has not been confirmed by the clubs or the Boras Corporation. However, if it is true, this demand is ridiculous. Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman all got five years and have been way more consistent over the last five seasons than Bellinger. I understand that he’s had injuries in his career, but he still slots in after Schwarber, Alonso and Bregman in the pecking order of free agents. That contract length is too risky based on his track record."
If this offer is in fact what Bellinger is asking for, then it's certainly understandable why he remains unsigned. It's unlikely teams see him on the same level as Alonso or Schwarber even with having a bounce-back year last season. The Yankees are in a position to offer Bellinger a contract similar to one of those players, but it's unlikely they offer more.
Bowden, however, believes there is one caveat to how Bellinger can demand this kind of deal from New York.
"The only way Bellinger’s demands to the Yankees can be in that stratosphere is if he has that number on the table from another team, and it doesn’t appear that he does, unless there is a mystery team no one knows about," Bowden added.
Bellinger's contract situation is a developing situation, and it remains to be seen how it unfolds the rest of the season.
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