Bellinger, Tucker or …BOTH for the Yankees?

Bellinger, Tucker or …BOTH for the Yankees?

There is going to be a ton of speculation this winter about the landing spots for Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger. Now, most Yankees insiders expect the Yankees to be aggressive to try and bring back Cody Bellinger, who had a really good year and was a really good fit for the Yankees. However, Kyle Tucker is a very intriguing guy. He had a higher OPS. He walks more than he strikes out. He’s got massive power and he’s younger than Cody Bellinger. Now, both of these guys are expected to command big contracts, and I wouldn’t expect this to happen for a while. It’s going to take some time to play out. This has got me thinking a little bit about the 2008 winter in which CC Sabathia, Mark Terara, and AJ Bernett were all big-time free agents. And the thought was that the Yankees would try and get two out of the three with the priority being CC Sabathia and probably AJ Bernett as a solid addition to the rotation. But it came as a total surprise in December when the Yankees locked up Mark Terara. And you know what? The Yankees celebrated the next October. That was a very Georgian move for Hal Steinbrer. So in this video I want to play back a couple of clips. We had a conversation with Andy Martino who covers the Yankees for SNY and he is a strong believer that the Yankees should bring back Cody Bellinger. I know that Joel Sherman feels the same way. I haven’t spoken with him yet, but on his podcast he spoke a lot about how Bellinger is the perfect fit. And we’re going to talk to Ryan Garcia. I had a long conversation with him about Bellinger versus Tucker. And he provides the case for Kyle Tucker. So, we’re going to play both of those. And in the middle, I’m going to kind of ponder whether or not the Yankees could get both. So, this is a little bit of a clip show for the winter, but I wanted to put all of this stuff in one place so you can enjoy and because this is something that’s going to take a while to play out. So, I thought it’d be nice to have everything in one spot. Just wanted to talk, that’s all. All right, let’s begin with my conversation with Andy Martino. He makes the case that the Yankees should bring back Cody Bellinger. How are we looking at this winter? Do you think the Yankees going to be aggressive in trying to bring back Cody Bellinger or do you think that they’re going to maybe try and get a little bit younger and go for the bigger star uh who is Kyle Tucker? I know they want Bellinger. That doesn’t preclude necessarily them wanting to consider a Tucker as well. Uh but I will say this, Derek, that the I I don’t think they’re going to have sign both, but I don’t think it’s it’s at this point this early. And and I want to stress, we’re talking at a time when uh the Yankees haven’t had their pro scouting meetings yet, which is the beginning of every off seasonason, which is when they really kind of formulate their plan for free agency. I mean, they’ve had meetings internally on free agents since probably August, September, as per normal. But when they really set the course for an offseason, the pro scouting meeting. So until they have that, I feel like I can’t really ask my sources definitively, who do you like, Tucker or Bellinger? Because they haven’t discussed that. So, I want to put that out there for every every kind of topic that we hit in one way, shape, or form because they haven’t had those scouting meetings yet. Having said that, Bellinger is the absolute perfect ideal of the way the the good ways in which the Yankees have remade themselves over the past couple of years. You know, Omar Mania, who’s not the only person that deserves credit for this, but has come in and has really been pounding the table with Brian Kman and the rest of the front office about getting more athletic. And you know, long gone are the days when we’re watching Glaver Torres throw to Luke Void in the infield uh or we’re watching Stanton in the in the outfield for the most part or you know they’ve really become uh a team of better athletes which is where the game is going uh more broadly and something that Omar personally has stressed with the Yankees. They became better by losing Sodto strangely enough and part of that is because of the athleticism and the defense. Uh, all of which is a rather long-winded way to say that Cody Bellinger fits them absolutely perfectly. And Tucker is a guy who’s a corner guy now who you could be having a DH conversation about within a few years. And that’s not where where the Yankees need to go. All right. Now, I want to talk about whether or not the Yankees could get both. And this segment sponsored by DraftKings. Back to 2008. No one expected the Yankees to get all three of Terara, Cece Seabathia, and AJ Bernette, but you know what? It worked. And the Yankees could afford to get both Bellinger and Tucker. Now, if you listen to Martino, he thinks that Tucker’s going to be a DH in a few years. And I kind of agree. And knowing that Yankees already have a number of DH’s, they got Stanton as the DH for the next couple of years. and then Judge is probably honestly going to take over as the DH. I’m not sure it’s the greatest fit, but if they’re willing to sacrifice a little bit of defense for a potentially gamechanging offensive force, and I know his numbers were down a little bit this year, just a 266 average of 22 home runs, but he had some injuries. 841 OPS. This is a guy who could make a real difference. Now, you could sign Cody Bellinger and put him in center field and sign Kyle Tucker and put him in left field. Now, that displaces Jason Dominguez. Now, maybe the Yankees just see Dominguez as a fourth outfielder, somebody who doesn’t need to play every day, but in the modern game and the way the Yankees change up lineups all the time, he would still get a significant amount of playing time and he doesn’t hit lefties anyway. You could also trade Dominguez, which I’m not happy with. I don’t want the Yankees to trade Dominguez. I believe there’s a lot of untapped potential there. You could put Bellinger at first base, move Dominguez to center, and put Kyle Tucker in left field. Now, that weakens your outfield defense for sure, and it makes Ben Rice your everyday catcher, which displaces Austin Welsh. So, for the folks that are saying get both, I think that’s uncharacteristic of Brian Kman. I think that would create way too many moving pieces. But, you know what? They would create a dynamic offense. They would be a little bit too left-handed for sure. I think that the most likely scenario is that they get one or the other. Now, I’m going to go to my conversation with Ryan Garcia, who basically makes the case for Kyle Tucker. Doesn’t talk a whole lot about, you know, the future of him as a DH. you know, he admits that basically his his defense isn’t great, but the offensive upside might be worth it. Uh, but first, I got to read the disclaimer. This segment brought to you by DraftKings. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use the code foul. That’s code foul for new customers. Get $200 in bonus bets instantly when you bet just $5 only on DraftKings. The crown is yours. Quick boilerplate and then back with Ryan Garcia. Gambling problem. Call 1800 gambler in New York. Call 8778Y or text open467-369. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-77777 or visit ccpg.org. Please play responsibly on behalf of Bootill Casino and Resort in Kansas. Pass through if per wager tax may apply in Illinois. 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. Restrictions apply. Bet must win to receive bonus bets which expire in 7 days. Minimum odds required. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkg.co/audio. limited time offer with Cody Bellinger versus Kyle Tucker. I’ll just give you the lay of the land and then I want to get your advantages and disadvantages for each. So Bellinger had five wore this year in his age 30 season. Kyle Tucker four and a half wore in his age 28 season. Had a few more injuries than Bellinger, although Bellinger’s had his share of injuries in the past. Bellinger arguably more productive in the cumulative stats, 29 home runs, 98 RBI’s, but Tucker had a higher OPS. He had more stolen bases. So just looking at this from the 30,000 foot view, who are you seeing as the better player over the next seven, eight years? Who gets the bigger contract? And who would you prefer the Yankees went after? So I’m going to go clean sweep with my answers to that. I’m going to go Kyle Tucker for me because I think what Kyle Tucker brings to the table offensively offsets what Cody Bellinger brings to the table defensively. I want to clarify by saying Kyle Tucker I think in left field will be a below average defensive player for the New York Yankees. But the prospect of him coming over here and providing a 150 or 160 OPS plus playing at Yankee Stadium instead of Wrigleyfield for 50% of his games is something I’m all in for. He has more walks than strikeouts over the last two years. He hits for a solid average. He has a good ability to hit fly balls to right field. And I think the top thing for me, and I I kind of wanted to get your perspective on this too, is I think the Yankees in the postseason struggled with managing their walk, taking their walks, and limiting the strikeouts. In the postseason specifically, it felt like against the Blue Jays, they couldn’t read the splitters. When they were when they fell early in games, they would press, they would be in scenarios where you see them swinging at pitches that this is a team that walk led the league in walks. Like those were pitches that this team didn’t swing at in the regular season. Tucker, I know, doesn’t have a story playoff resume, but I do believe he has the plate discipline and the confidence in his plate discipline to take those walks when the opposing team is giving it to him. And that is what makes him such an attractive piece to me in my opinion. Yeah, I mean to an extent you’re definitely right about the Yankees not taking their walks during the postseason. And you know, I was watching the at bats that, you know, other teams are having against these splitters. you know, watching the Mariners hit against uh you know, Gossman for for example, totally different approach laying off that pitch. You know, Bellinger, though, I really thought he was a I’m kind of aligned with Joel Sherman on this one. So, we’re we’re kind of at M as Michael K would say at loggerheads on this one. We’re going to have a good oldfashioned debate on this. Um I thought he was the perfect Yankee this year. I mean, the way he shortens up with two strikes, avoid strikeouts. I think back to that at bat he had against Araldis Chapman. He’s had a he had a couple of good at bats against Chapman there late in the season. won in the postseason. Uh, you know, he had the power. He’s done it in New York, which is always something that is not a guarantee when you bring in a new player, right? I don’t think Tucker would fail as a Yankee. Like, I don’t think he’s I think he’s perfectly confident to do that. But then again, we’ve seen guys who we thought were going to, you know, like Sunny Gray, for example, I thought had the swagger to come in and pitch great with the Yankees and it, you know, New York was maybe a little bit of a problem for him. Uh, in terms of age, I’m kind of aligned with you. But like I would always tend to go for the younger player, especially when guys seem to be getting old a little bit quicker these days than than they used to. I mean, the the grind of 162, all the travel, you know, it’s uh I know that’s always been a thing, but just the weight of all the stress that you got to carry these days. It’s getting hotter. Like it’s getting hotter during the summers, you know? I mean, that that makes a difference, too. Um, and you know, Bellinger has some injuries himself. So, I think this is going to be interesting to see which way the Yankees go. Where do you see as the contract numbers for each like ballpark? Cuz I could see either I could see Bellinger getting 175 185 and I could see Tucker getting 350 400. So, there’s going to be even though his numbers were arguably not quite as good cumulatively. I think it’s just a very interesting scenario. Yeah, I actually fully agree with the contract ranges you ranges you provided. And I think that that’s going to be in the ballpark of what these two players get. Now, I think the question for the Yankees is how much do they believe in Kyle Tucker’s defense in left field? How much do they believe in Cody Bellinger’s defense in center field? And how much do they believe in the two young outfielders in their system and organization in Jason Dominguez and Spencer Jones? Regardless of which player they sign, they’re pigeon holing themselves to only have one of those two players come up. I’d be shocked if they held Spencer Jones down there for two years knowing he’s already 24 until Stan’s contract comes up. I’d be stunned if they kept Dominguez just to be a part-time player. So, I think it’s going to be such a fascinating conversation throughout the off season. And while I’ve pounded the table for Kyle Tucker, I’m not going to be foolish enough to look at this and say these aren’t two good baseball players who make your team better and that there isn’t obvious risks with both players. Kyle Tucker, in my opinion, is a star. He’s not a superstar. There’s a difference between a player you would get crazy for and a player you would just shell out a lot of money for. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I think there’s there’s just a difference like Juan Sodto is a different kind of player than Kyle Tucker. That is a fact. So there’s a marketing aspect to Sodto that I think you don’t have with Tucker probably. That’s the other thing from a financial standpoint. If we wanted to kind of grade out which players were the most beneficial to bring in from an audience from an audience standpoint, show Otani has the most pull in baseball. Aaron Judge is a fairly distant second because Otani has an international market, but there is a massive gap between Judge and anybody below that. Sodto might be three. You want to put Betsel and Dor in that conversation. Sure. But Tucker isn’t there. So he’s not only not as good of as a Juan Sto, he’s not going to have the market pull. And from, let’s say, Hal Steinbrer’s perspective, if you know the fan base’s engagement with the team isn’t going to increase or decrease dramatically based on the player you’re bringing in, and if your front office people tell you that Bellinger is not too far off or as good as Tucker, you can understand where the organization’s going to go from that point. It’ll be interesting to see where they end up leaning in that regard. So, that is the state of things as we embark on what could be a consequential free agency. Kyle Tucker versus Cody Bellinger. Let me know in the comments who you prefer. Also, if you think the Yankees should get both, let me know what you should do with the rest of the roster here because you’re either going to have to trade Jason Dominguez or move Ben Rice and trade Austin Wells or relegate Austin Wells to the backup. It’s going to be a lot of moving parts. I think the Yankees could do it. It would not shock me. I’ve seen Stranger Things. I mean, you know, A-Rod walked in the door one day. That was crazy. Let me know in the comments what you want the Yankees to do and I’ll see you next time. Hey, while I’ve got you here, be sure to like the video and subscribe to the channel. Pinstripe Territory is the official Yankees podcast of the Foul Territory Network. We are home to the number one most watched MLB postgame show on YouTube since 2021. We’re here after every Yankees game and for reactions to all the best news and rumors during the off season. Be a part of the show by calling into the voicemail 7188991068. Try to keep it clean for me. And if you ever miss us on YouTube, be sure and subscribe on all your favorite podcast platforms. Go ahead and rate us five stars. It’ll help other people find the show. Thanks for watching. See you. [Music]

Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use code FOUL to get $300 in bonus bets with a $5 bet! #DKPartner

Welcome to Pinstripe Territory, your ultimate destination for all things New York Yankees! In this episode, we dive deep into the greatest franchise in sports history.

Join us for daily Yankees game recaps, highlights, pregame shows, rumors, yankees trade rumors, yankees free agent rumors, and more! Welcome to the best Yankees podcast there is: Pinstripe Territory – formerly NYY Recaps, hosted by Derek Levandowski.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
2:03 Case for Cody Bellinger
4:17 Case for Both
7:05 DraftKings Disclaimer
7:37 Case for Tucker
13:51 Wrap Up

—

**🔥 Join the Pinstripe Nation! 🔥**

👕 Shop Exclusive Yankees-Inspired Gear at NYYDesigns.shop:
http://nyydesigns.shop

🐦 Follow me on X (Twitter) for Live Updates:
https://x.com/PinstripeDerek

📸 Find Us on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/pinstripe_territory/

#NewYorkYankees #Yankees #NYY #BronxBombers #MLB #Baseball #YankeesNews #YankeesAnalysis #PinstripeTerritory #YankeesPodcast #AaronJudge #MLB #Mets #RedSox #Knicks #Nets #Jets #Giants

—

**About Pinstripe Territory:**
Pinstripe Territory is your go-to source for passionate, in-depth discussions about the New York Yankees. From game breakdowns and player analysis to historical deep dives and fan debates, we cover everything a true Yankees enthusiast needs. Subscribe for regular insights, engaging commentary, and to join a community that lives and breathes pinstripes!

— #sponsored

**Disclaimer:** This channel and its content are for informational and entertainment purposes only and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Major League Baseball (MLB) or the New York Yankees organization. All opinions expressed are our own.