Yankees Teetering on Disaster With Cody Bellinger Rumor

Cody Bellinger just completed his second season with the New York Yankees, and once again, he was elite in left field.

This time around, he was awarded a Gold Glove award courtesy of posting 21 defensive runs saved in left. He also recorded six outs above average.

Bellinger has developed into one of the best corner outfielders in all of baseball, so even with his bat regressing a bit in 2026, his defense alone made him valuable.

So you would think the Yankees would leave Bellinger alone, right?

Well, apparently, New York is thinking of moving him out of left field and into center field on more of a full-time basis, according to Jack Curry of YES Network.

The Yankees have made lots of questionable decisions over the last several years, but this would definitely rank among their dumbest.

Why would you take an elite left fielder and move him into a position where he is not so good, thus destroying his value?

Bellinger spent a decent amount of time in center field in 2025, playing 306.1 innings there. He posted a minus-3 DRS and a minus-1 OAA during that time. In limited center-field action in 2026 (107 frames), he registered a minus-1 DRS.

Is Bellinger terrible in center field? No, but he is pedestrian there, at best. Whereas we know how good he is in the corners.

Do the Yankees trust Spencer Jones so little that they are willing to cut Bellinger off at the knees by moving him to his weakest outfield position?

I don't understand it.

Yes, I know Jones wasn't great in center field this past year. I get that he profiles more as a right fielder long term, and once Aaron Judge moves into a full-time DH role sometime in the near future, Jones will shift to right.

But the time isn't now. Not when you have Bellinger winning Gold Gloves in left field.

Bellinger slashed .264/.338/.429 with 17 home runs and 73 RBI over 562 plate appearances in 2026. He was decent with the bat; not great. If he played in center field, he would have been an average player as a whole. His glove in left made him a 3.5 WAR player.

The Yankees would be better off defensively keeping Bellinger where he is and allowing Jones to try and figure it out in center field. At least in that setup, they know they could trust Bellinger.