The MLB offseason is upon us, and that means that some of the league's top players will be signing new deals in free agency, either re-upping with their existing team or leaving town for greener pastures.
DraftKings has odds posted for where Cody Bellinger will land for the 2026 season, with two of his former teams among the top suitors for his services.
Cody Bellinger Next Team Odds, Predictions
Odds are via DraftKings.
Cody Bellinger Free Agency Breakdown
Career
Bellinger has had one of the stranger career arcs for a top-end free agent. Coming out of a highly-touted Dodgers' farm system, the son of a former big leaguer played his first full season in 2017, smacking 39 home runs en route to an NL Rookie of the Year win. He did this as the Dodgers' primary first baseman too, although he did see some time in all three outfield positions as well.
In 2018, the Dodgers played him more in center field, eventually transitioning him to the outfield full-time in 2019. That year, Bellinger had the season of his life, slashing .305/.406/.629 with 47 homers, good for a 161 wRC+ and 7.8 fWAR, and netting himself the NL MVP Award. He proved to be a great defender in all three outfield positions, providing the Dodgers with a valuable asset moving forward.
After 2019, Bellinger's numbers fell off a cliff. He regressed to a 112 wRC+ during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, then slashed an abysmal .165/.240/.302 in 95 games in 2021. He lost his role and his spotlight in Los Angeles, causing the Dodgers to non-tender him before the 2022 season rather than pay his high arbitration figure.
Bellinger signed a one-year deal with the Cubs, and immediately rebounded, slashing .307/.356/.525 while playing great defense in center field, earning him the Silver Slugger and some down-ballot MVP consideration. Teams were seemingly scared off by the lack of peripheral metrics to back up that great season, because Bellinger ended up returning to the Cubs that offseason on a three-year, opt out-laden contract. As expected, he regressed in a still productive 2024 campaign, and then opted into the second year of his deal.
2025 Season
Reports came out early after the 2024 season that the Cubs did not want to pay Bellinger's $27.5 million salary in 2025, and that they were looking to deal him. That matter only intensified when Chicago acquired Kyle Tucker from the Astros, providing them with an upgrade on an outfield spot that could potentially be vacated by a Bellinger trade.
So, Bellinger was unceremoniously shipped to the Yankees in a salary dump, and named the Bronx Bombers' starting center fielder in Spring Training. He had a slow April, slashing just .204/.281/.357 with three homers through the end of the month, but went on a tear after that to finish with a .272/.334/.480 line, as well as a 4.9 fWAR mark that was second among Yankees position players behind Aaron Judge.
As a result of that bounce-back campaign, Bellinger decided to test the market once again, opting out of the final $25 million of his deal in hopes of getting a long-term contract. At age 30, this could be the former MVP's final chance to make big money over a longer period of time.
Top Suitors
New York Yankees
A reunion with the Yankees seems like the most likely outcome for Bellinger, both by DraftKings' odds and based on reports from multiple insiders. The Yankees might be hesitant to get themselves in a bidding war for the top outfielder on the market, Kyle Tucker, considering that he's coming off some significant injuries and would have to move to left field full-time.
If the Yankees indeed decide not to bother with Tucker, bringing Bellinger back seems like a good fit. He loved hitting at Yankee Stadium, slashing .302/.365/.544 with 18 homers in 80 games there, and handled both left and center field excellently. Bellinger is the Yankees' best option defensively in center field, which will aid his value even if his bat regresses.
Bellinger had reportedly wanted to be a Yankee for years before landing there via trade, as his father, Clay, played for the team during Cody's formative years in the late 1990s and early 2000s. There are questions about how well Bellinger's bat will age, considering that he already doesn't hit the ball very hard, but his great plate discipline, his innate ability to square up the baseball, and his relatively even lefty-righty splits are all huge factors in his favor. Plus, the Yankees will lose a lot in terms of center field defense if they let him walk.
Chicago Cubs
While we're on the topic of teams familiar to Bellinger, the Cubs could provide another hospitable landing spot. They replaced Bellinger with Kyle Tucker for the 2025 season, and now that they're considered unlikely to retain Tucker, their best option could be pivoting back to Bellinger.
Per Fangraphs' Roster Resource, the Cubs' regular outfield is expected to be Ian Happ in left, Pete Crow-Armstrong in center, and Seiya Suzuki in right, with outfielders Moises Ballesteros and Kevin Alcantara splitting time at DH. Notably, that has the Cubs moving Suzuki back to right field full-time, where he's put up -5 OAA since 2022, while having the platoon of Ballesteros and Alcantara combining for around 1.0 fWAR in the DH spot.
Bringing back Bellinger would allow the Cubs to optimize their defensive positioning better, while adding another all-star caliber bat to the lineup. It would keep Suzuki at DH, and while they wouldn't need Bellinger in center with gold-glover Crow-Armstrong out there, he can play an elite right field in a ballpark where the wind can make the position more difficult to play. The biggest question is whether Cubs ownership will open its wallet or simply stick with their in-house options.
New York Mets
Moving on to teams Bellinger hasn't played for before, let's talk about the Mets. Owner Steve Cohen has shown an extreme willingness to spend on his ball club since taking over as owner in 2021, and if they're serious about outfield upgrades, Bellinger would be a great fit.
Center field was a black hole for the Mets in 2025, with Tyrone Taylor, Jeff McNeil, Cedric Mullins, and others combining for about 0.7 fWAR at the position. McNeil on his own played very well, but the Mets would like to move him back to his more natural positions in the infield. With Mullins hitting free agency after a disappointing Mets tenure, that leaves just Taylor–who slashed an abysmal .223/.279/.319 with 3 OAA–under contract and able to play center.
Signing Bellinger would relegate Taylor back to the bench, where his speed and defense can be better utilized without having his bat in the lineup every day. Plus, Bellinger would add another strong left-handed outfield bat to supplement Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo, while holding his own against lefties better than Nimmo does. The fit is there, the Mets just have to decide whether he's worth the price tag.
San Diego Padres
A.J. Preller and the Padres don't really seem to care if a player is worth their price tag; they'll just pay them anyway if they think the player could help the team. Bellinger fits the model of a blue-chip, potentially overpriced bat that the Padres have sprung for in the past, such as Xander Bogaerts and Luis Arraez.
The Padres' outfield mix is pretty crowded, with Jackson Merrill dug in at center field and platinum glover Fernando Tatís Jr. entrenched in right, but that doesn't mean they couldn't upgrade in left field. Preller acquired Ramón Laureano last trade deadline, who slashed an impressive .269/.323/.489 with San Diego down the stretch, and is under contract for 2026.
Still, there's no guarantee the 31-year-old Laureano repeats those kinds of numbers after spending a few years prior in baseball obscurity. Bellinger would be an upgrade both offensively and defensively over him, and would relegate Laureano to a fourth outfielder or bench bat role, where he could end up being more useful. Further still, Preller could sign Bellinger and then turn around and trade Laureano, which wouldn't be anything new for him.
