After a weekend full of public negotiating, poking and prodding, it might be time for Yankees fans to ask a different question besides, "Who out there is topping our offer for Cody Bellinger?" Instead, they should be asking, "Is our offer out of consideration, even though it's almost definitely the highest bid?"
Saturday night's report indicating the Yankees expected Bellinger to sign elsewhere sounded like bluster a la the Pete Alonso saga from 2024-25, which ultimately ended with Alonso capitulating to the Mets on a one-year pact (thanks to an opt-out). Even after the Alex Bregman contract, it's still difficult to envision Boras finding seven years (or even six) for Bellinger in a market that has told him several years running that they fear giving him a long-term commitment.