As we saw last offseason with Juan Soto, a New York Yankees free agent or free agent target could slow down the market.
Some suppose that it could happen with Cody Bellinger, an outfielder and first baseman, who the Yankees could look to bring back.
When examining some potential free agency rankings, Pete Caldera of NJ.com had some wise thoughts about potentially signing Kyle Tucker. However, an important note here is that I want to touch on the fact that he thinks Bellinger's price could increase, depending on whether Tucker signs before him.
“The lefty-hitting right fielder is this winter’s free agent prize. If he signs before Bellinger, that might increase Bellinger’s market. However it plays out, you’d expect the Yanks to at least make an inquiry here.
“Would they get aggressive if Bellinger goes off the board, entering a bidding war for a four-time All-Star whose reported price tag could exceed $400 million?”
Tucker and Bellinger aren't going to get close to the same number, and Caldera didn't attempt to say that, but his thoughts about Tucker potentially raising Bellinger's price are 100 percent fair.
If there's one thing Bellinger has to watch out for, it's that he could be left without a perfect market if the Yankees don't want him.
Of course, there should be other teams around the league with interest, but the Yankees seem to be the most obvious suitor, with the money to spend on him right now.
If the Yankees get involved in Tucker and lose those sweepstakes, they might also lose out on Bellinger if he doesn't want to wait for Tucker to sign.
There's a lot that actually has to play out here, and it’s something that I feel like isn’t being talked about enough.
I wouldn't say that the Yankees are going to really have a strong pursuit of Tucker, but there could be some challenges here for Bellinger’s side.
At this point, it might be better to just give Bellinger what he wants early on to avoid any possible mishaps, but the Yankees could also go big fish hunting and hope to land someone of Tucker's caliber.