The New York Yankees walked into the off-season knowing one thing—the Toronto Blue Jays are no longer the up-and-coming AL East wild card team; they are the defending AL champs. And this season, it seems like they want to go and win the championship altogether, given the way they are stacking their talents. And this is great for them, but it could come to bite the New York Yankees—the Bellinger way.

Yes, the Jays are very much in the race for Bellinger, and insiders are raising red alarms for the Yankees. Pete Caldera’s warning landed like a punch. “And if they’re serious about pursuing free agent Cody Bellinger, the Yankees’ winter could become as bitter as their autumn exit—a defeat that was delivered by Toronto.”

Ouch. But it’s true because the Toronto Jays have not stopped since. They opened the season by handing Dylan Cease a whopping $210 million deal, and then they got Cody Ponce, and they are now showing interest in Robert Suarez. They, in fact, even hosted Kyle Tucker in Dunedin. Yes, not even the Yankees did that—but they did.

Yankees honestly might be staring at a deep problem if the Jays circle Bellinger in red, as Pete Caldera mentioned. 

New York, meanwhile, is doing everything it can to avoid that nightmare. Bellinger was a key piece for them, hitting. 272 with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs. They have made it clear that they love Bellinger in the Bronx. Cashman said they would love to bring him back, and even Bellinger mentioned he wanted to stay. Except—not at a discount. And you bet as a Scott Boras client, the discount is not on the same table.

Plus, Kyle Schwarber has gone off the market, too, so Bellinger now suddenly looks like the second-best offensive player available. So losing him would hurt the Yankees in more ways than even they would like to admit.

If he walks, then Cashman says that the left field competition could come down to Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones. But here is the thing: both come with question marks. Dominguez was one of the league’s worst defenders last season. As for Jones, he struck out over 30 percent of the time in Double A and Triple A.

Aaron Boone, meanwhile, is not pretending that things were close last year with the Kays. He acknowledged with honesty, “I don’t want to discount that they kicked our ass last year.” Yes, both of the teams finished with 94 wins, but the Jays dominated head-to-head matchups and even overtook New York again in the ALDS.

For now, the Yankees are walking on thin ice because their condition may very well be like the Mets, who just lost their cornerstone player, Edwin Diaz, to a rival!

Scott Boras Drops Cryptic Clues on Cody Bellinger Market

The New York Yankees are pushing hard for a reunion with Bellinger, but they might be in deep water. This is because Scott Boras just dropped a full-on comedy routine disguised as market hints.

“It’s not for me to judge,” Boras said via The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner. “Great players see Red. If they have a big bat yanked out of their lineup… I haven’t met a team that dodges a five-tool player… To Phil, the center field need is a giant step toward the playoffs… There are a lot of angel investors looking for versatile outfielders.”

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The translation of this is Bellinger’s market is massive, and everyone is in from the Yankees, Reds, Mets, Dodgers, Phillies, Giants, Blue Jays, and Angels. Given Bellinger’s big market past with the Dodgers and Cubs, none of these suitors are surprising. As for the projections, well, Athletic projects him for a seven-year $182 million deal—a big money territory.

Now, Hal Steinbrenner talked about them limiting spending. But Boras dismissed the idea, saying, “They’ve never made mention of that,” he said. “I go back to what they did with Soto last year… I have no reason they wouldn’t approach this market any differently.”

Still, SNY’s Andy Martino added a dose of reality—this won’t be a Juan Soto-style bidding war. The Yankees want Bellinger, but they won’t chase endlessly. “The Yankees want him, but this isn’t a Juan Soto thing where they’re just going to keep bidding and bidding and bidding,” Martino said.

Bellinger is not the MVP force he was once, but he is still a strong defender, a quality bat, and one of the Yankees’ most important players from last season. It remains to be seen how the on-your-feet Yankees act, because apart from Trent Grisham taking his QO, they have been rather quiet.