Cody Bellinger has been bad so far as a Yankee. If you are pumping up his fielding and baserunning, that is akin to complimenting a not very good looking date’s personality.
Through 26 games, Bellinger’s offensive performance has been reminiscent of his final two Dodger seasons (2021-22) when he combined for a 66 OPS-plus and fully tumbled from the 2019 NL MVP to a player Los Angeles non-tendered. By the way, Bellinger has a 66 OPS-plus in 93 plate appearances as a Yankee.
Bellinger had revived with the Cubs the past two seasons. But concerns lingered about tepid exit velocities and that he made a good amount, thus the industry was not pushing hard to acquire him, despite Chicago pretty much being willing to give him away. The Yankees got him for a song, dance and Cody Poteet, and to date his offensive results have been Alex Verdugo-esque.
But here is the thing: Aaron Judge is performing better than ever and the Yankees offense was averaging the majors’ second-most runs, so Bellinger’s high-strikeout/low-production first Bronx month has been camouflaged to some degree.
