YANKEES FACE $260M CODY BELLINGER DILEMMA AS SCOTT BORAS PLAYS HARDBALL AGAIN
Will the Yankees cave to Cody Bellinger’s massive price tag? Inside the negotiations that could define the Bronx Bombers' 2026 season.
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The Yankees want Cody Bellinger back; no secret there. But if that doesn’t happen, they’ve got their eyes on Bo Bichette as plan B. Still, bringing in Bichette comes with all kinds of headaches. Honestly, it’s risky. Meanwhile, let’s check out three Yankees who look ready to smash their 2026 projections.
This offseason has turned into a waiting game for the Yankees. Scott Boras is doing his usual thing, pushing Bellinger’s price into the stratosphere. Seven years, nearly $260 million? That’s treating Bellinger like he’s an MVP every season, and his career just doesn’t back that up. He’s streaky, and there’s always the risk he slides backwards. Sure, Yankee Stadium could boost his numbers, but shelling out almost $40 million a year for a guy who needs the right park to thrive? That’s a bet that could go south fast.
Then there’s the backup plan—Bo Bichette. On paper, paying $300 million for Bichette means you’re betting on him staying a top-tier shortstop for years. But the numbers say he’s not as reliable on defence as people think, and he might not even stick at short. Plus, with Anthony Volpe locked in at shortstop, adding Bichette would just create a mess. Someone like Jazz Chisholm gets squeezed out, and the team loses that athletic vibe they’ve been building. Bottom line: the Yankees need to show some restraint. Overpaying out of panic shuts championship windows quietly but quickly.
Three Yankees Ready to Blow Past 2026 Projections
Steamer’s 2026 projections see the Yankees as good but not quite there yet. Still, three guys could beat those numbers. First up, Ryan McMahon. He didn’t wow anyone last season, but dig a little deeper—better exit velocity, more barrels, and he’s hitting the ball in the air to his pull side more often. If the Yankees use him right, keeping him away from tough lefties, McMahon could quietly turn into a key bat at the bottom of the lineup.
On the pitching side, Will Warren’s projections look kind of meh, but there’s more upside than people think. He’s sharpened his fastball, and if he gets his secondary pitches working, he could follow the same path as other Yankee pitchers who took off after some tweaks. The boldest pick is Ben Rice. The projections predict a step back, but forget that. Rice hits the ball hard, doesn’t chase much, and his platoon splits aren’t a big problem. Give him a full season at first base, and he could get close to MVP levels.
Ben Rice Is Changing Everything
Rice has honestly flipped the script for the Yankees. In his first full year, he put up big numbers while splitting time between catcher and first, ending with a 133 wRC+—that’s elite company. With five years of team control left, the Yankees suddenly have a cheap star just as payroll is getting tighter.
The deeper numbers love Rice even more. He’s near the top in expected slugging, hard-hit rate, and exit velocity, but his batting average tanked because of some ridiculous defensive luck against him. Add in his great eye and low strikeout rate for a power hitter, and you’ve got a rare building block. Even if his glove at first is just okay, his bat is enough to make him a star. Once that luck evens out, Rice could be right in the MVP mix, all while giving the Yankees a ton of value.
YANKEES DEBUT ALERT: LEFT-HANDER RYAN WEATHERS OFFICIALLY STARTS TOMORROW NIGHT AGAINST THE NATIONALS
Bronx debut: Discover how Ryan Weathers' new "bullet slider" and 97 MPH heat will lead the Yankees against the Nationals tomorrow.
Ryan Weathers is set to make his Yankees debut on the mound tomorrow night, according to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. The lefty will face a familiar team in the Nationals; he saw plenty of them back when he pitched for the Marlins in the NL East. The Yankees are still getting their starting pitchers ready for the 2026 season, so this outing gives them a chance to see what Weathers can do.
They picked up Weathers from Miami this offseason. He’s only 26, but he’s already been busy trying to sharpen his game. He's been working on a new two-seam fastball and a tighter bullet slider, hoping to finally show why he was once the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Before that, though, the Yankees take on Toronto today at 1:07 PM EST. Will Warren gets the start, and both Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger are in the lineup.
Now, back to Weathers. Last year with the Marlins, he made eight starts and put up a 3.99 ERA, striking out over 22% of the batters he faced. The Yankees believe he has even more to offer. They’re betting that these new pitches, a better two-seamer and a firmer slider, will help him take that next step.
He throws hard; his fastball averaged 96.8 MPH last season, which got plenty of teams interested. The upside is real, but so is the risk. Injuries have slowed him down the last couple of years, cutting short what could have been breakout seasons.
First, Weathers has to prove he can stay healthy. Then, he needs to show that these tweaks to his pitch mix can help him avoid the hard contact that led to seven home runs allowed in just 38.1 innings last season. The Yankees are betting on his talent, though, and they see him as a possible future star in their rotation.
Tomorrow’s game is at George M. Steinbrenner Field, and it’ll be the Yankees’ first night game of the 2026 Grapefruit League, starting at 6:35 PM EST.
OLYMPIC FAMILY LEGACY: INSIDE TOM BRADY’S PLAN TO TURN VIVIAN INTO A SUPERSTAR OLYMPIAN
Sports news: Tom Brady's Olympic dream. Get the report on Vivian’s volleyball talent and Team USA’s wins in Milan.
Tom Brady, now retired and a seven-time Super Bowl champ, took his kids, Benjamin and Vivia,n to Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics. They spent the week soaking up the city, meeting new faces, and cheering for Team USA on the ice. The real rush came on Thursday; the USA’s women’s hockey team pulled off a wild comeback against Canada, winning 2-1 in overtime. Megan Keller scored the game-winner, and Brady got to watch it all unfold right next to tennis legend Billie Jean King.
Four days later, the men’s team kept the momentum going. Jack Hughes scored another overtime winner against Canada on Sunday. You’d think that would be the biggest story from the Bradys’ trip, but no, what really got people talking was something way more personal.
Tom posted a sweet shoutout to his daughter Vivian on Instagram. Just after all the Olympic action, he shared a photo of 13-year-old Vivian, captioning it: “Future summer Olympian” with a string of volleyball emojis. Fans immediately caught on that Brady wasn’t just being a proud dad; he was dropping a real hint.
Vivian, whom he shares with Gisele Bündchen, already plays volleyball at school. She swims and plays soccer, too. What’s cool is that every sport she loves is a Summer Olympics event. Brady’s caption didn’t feel random; it felt like he meant it.
And this isn’t their first Olympic adventure together. Brady and Vivian hit up the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and packed their days with nine different events: gymnastics, beach volleyball, swimming, and diving. Vivian even got to play some volleyball on the sand with Brazilian legend Juliana Felisberta da Silva.
After seeing all the winter action in Italy, Brady’s “summer Olympian” tag for Vivian sounds even more hopeful. He knows exactly where he sees her going.
With the Olympics set to land in Los Angeles in 2028, Vivian will be 15 when the Games kick off in July. Club volleyball is probably her next step. And Brady himself? He’s hinted he’s got his own Olympic goals for 2028, turning the dream into a full-on family mission.
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