By now, you know that Trent Grisham has accepted the New York Yankees' $22 million qualifying offer, meaning that he will be under contract for 2026.

This has led to some genuine concern among Yankees fans who are now wondering if the team will have enough money to re-sign fellow outfielder Cody Bellinger.

General manager Brian Cashman didn't exactly do much to dispel those worries this week, telling reporters that New York will now have Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones competing for the starting job in left field.

Of course, this could all be posturing on the part of Cashman, who also confirmed that he had spoken to Bellinger's agent, Scott Boras, about a reunion with the 30-year-old star.

Just like any other executive, Cashman is not going to lay all his cards on the table, and he is not going to give Bellinger the upper hand by expressing desperation.

The Yankees surely want Bellinger back. I think we all know this. After all, Bellinger smashed 29 home runs and 98 RBI to go along with an .813 OPS while playing terrific defense in 2025. Meanwhile, Dominguez was very shaky in left field, and Jones has yet to hit the big leagues.

New York is attempting to win a World Series, and Cashman obviously understands that retaining Bellinger would be the most ideal way to go in order to achieve that goal.

However, Bellinger has a very robust free-agent market, so Cashman wants to avoid giving the veteran any more leverage than he already has.

Is there a chance that Bellinger departs? Sure. The Yanks have notably operated on a rather strict budget in recent years, so if Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner feel that Bellinger is asking for too much money, they could certainly allow him to walk.

It's worth noting that Bellinger has an extensive injury history, and he is just two years removed from a pedestrian .751 OPS in Chicago. In fact, since winning the NL MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019, Bellinger has really only had two good seasons.

Taking that into account, if Bellinger is offered something like an eight-year, $200 million deal elsewhere, the Yankees would fully be within reason to watch him head out the door.

But you kind of get the feeling that there is a whole lot of mutual interest on both sides, so I would still be pretty surprised if Bellinger ends up in a different uniform this winter.