The Yankees did their part by reportedly putting a four-year, $30 million AAV offer on the table for Cody Bellinger. The problem? Bellinger is said to be holding out for a much bigger commitment, something in the range of seven years at $35 million per year or more. And that gap has basically brought everything to a halt.

In fact, if recent reports are accurate, the situation may have taken an even sharper turn. On Saturday, word surfaced that the Yankees aren’t close to a deal at all, and they might actually be out of the running for their 2025 hero.

If you remember, a day earlier, fans were directing their frustration at Bellinger’s agent, Scott Boras, accusing him of sabotaging the deal. This time around, though, the heat has shifted. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman are now catching plenty of criticism themselves as the standoff drags on with no end in sight.

“The Yankees are now operating under the assumption that (Cody) Bellinger is going to sign elsewhere,” MLB insider Bryan Hoch quoted ESPN’s Buster Olney.

Now, this is a major blow to the Yankees’ hopes of keeping Cody Bellinger, and there’s really no way to spin it as good news.

We still remember how Bellinger genuinely seemed to love playing at Yankee Stadium and wearing pinstripes. He put together a strong 2025 season, blasting 29 HRs, driving in 98 runs, and posting another impressive OPS+ of 125.

And 2025 also happened to be his only season in New York, after the Yankees acquired him the previous offseason.

What makes this sting even more is how quiet the Yankees’ offseason has been overall. So far, they’ve mostly just cycled back players from the 2025 roster instead of adding top-tier talent. On top of that, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams walked in free agency to the Mets, and now the Yankees are staring down the possibility of losing Bellinger, too.

And yes, we are still not certain if the Yankees front office would invest enough to land Kyle Tucker!

Thus, letting Bellinger walk would be especially painful because of how valuable he is. Losing out on a player like that would feel disastrous, and unsurprisingly, fans didn’t waste any time turning their frustration toward Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman for not doing enough to keep the roster competitive.

Fans are calling out the Yankees front office’s approach to Bellinger

Why not Steinbrenner and Cashman couldn’t be more aggressive when landing a name like Cody Bellinger?

Fans wonder. “No clue what the offseason plan is. Every team in the division (maybe not the Rays) has improved. The Yankees have gotten significantly worse,” one fan said. “FIRE BRIAN CASHMAN. THAT’S THE TWEET SINCE 2019,” another added.

Well, this offseason, even the Orioles have surprised many by landing Pete Alonso for $155 million.

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But the Yankees are yet to make any big moves. Currently, Bo Bichette, Cody Bellinger, Alex Bregman, and Kyle Tucker are the major big names available in free agency. The Yankees are rumored to have each one of them, but in reality, that serves a little. So, the fans wonder what the Yankees’ offseason plan is all about.

And for Cashman, there are a few botched moves that might have irked the fans. For example, the Yankees are investing in Gerrit Cole, and DJ LeMahieu went bust, but not investing enough in the productive ones is what the fans are saying.

“Yankees are an absolute joke,” another fan added. “I don’t mind not signing Bellinger. I do mind that they’re not going to sign anyone to replace him,” one user remarked. So, while not landing Bellinger is surely a sore point, the fans are more concerned about whether the Yankees would do anything to plug the gap. They are almost certain that even if Bellinger couldn’t be landed, the Yankees would still not go for Bichette or Tucker.

Reason? Steinbrenner has already confirmed his preference to limit the payroll to $300 million! “Good, so Hal can spend no money ….and 4th place in the east. Judge should be meeting with them, voicing his objections,” another added. Reportedly, Aaron Judge has already pushed to sign Bellinger and but we are skeptical if that had any impact at all.

Hence, for the Bleacher creatures, Cody Bellinger might be the thing of the past, and the best case could be Bichette or Tucker landing in the Bronx.