This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
We have no idea how the video package recapping the Yankees’ 2025 season will conclude, though the folks in charge of such things are certainly leaving a spot for a potential dogpile on the center of an October infield.
For now, it would be wise to pin a bookmark on Cody Bellinger’s battle against Aroldis Chapman late in Saturday’s 5-3 win, a big-time showdown that resulted in a run-scoring double off the Green Monster. It deserves a second look.
“Obviously, it was a really tough at-bat,” Bellinger said with an understated shrug, crediting Aaron Judge for having a good at-bat in front of him. “Ultimately, I was just sticking with my plan and honestly just trying to pass the baton.”
No, that’s not quite enough. Let’s set the scene: evening had fallen across Fenway, and the Yankees’ lead was trimmed to 4-3 after Jarren Duran’s pinch-hit homer. Judge kept the inning going with a two-out single off Chapman, who is arguably having the best year of his career at age 37.
Bellinger fouled back a nasty sinker up and in at 97 mph, then took a biting slider for a called strike. The crowd roared, looking for a put-away pitch that never came -- a rarity with Chapman, who has handled lefties to a 7-for-49 (.143) mark this year.
Bellinger laid off a slider in the dirt, ducked away from a sinker that sailed to the screen for a wild pitch, then had a good take on a slider that ran the count full. Bellinger chopped a slider foul, then wasted a fastball and slider.
The ninth pitch of the at-bat was a four-seamer, up and away, and Bellinger banged it off the left-field wall for a run-scoring double.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone would later gush about Bellinger’s slashing plate discipline, calling it “an elite at-bat,” and Bellinger’s teammates similarly marveled.
“That was sick,” Jazz Chisholm, Jr. said. “As a kid, being a fan of baseball and everything -- watching Aroldis Chapman come up through the league and seeing him throw 106. … My dream is always to get a hit off of Chapman, and I still haven’t.”
It has gotten to the point where Boone looks forward to left-on-left matchups involving Bellinger, even facing tough customers like Chapman. This has been Bellinger’s most productive year against southpaws, entering Sunday hitting .370 (51-for-138) with an 1.031 OPS -- even better than his stellar 2023 with the Cubs.
“A lot of it is approach. I’ve hit them pretty well this year,” Bellinger said. “I’m just trying to stay right there and stay within myself, and ultimately just put my best swing on the ball as consistently as I can. I kind of control what I can control.”
Max Fried is glad he doesn’t need to face Bellinger; Fried allowed six hits in their previous 19 matchups (.316). Fried said he senses Bellinger changes his style based on who he’s facing.
“He can shorten up and go the other way, or he can take you deep pull-side,” Fried said. “So he's two different types of hitters, and you’ve just got to make pitches and hope he gets himself out.”
Beyond his performance against lefties, the 30-year-old Bellinger brings a can-do attitude that Boone describes as “blue-collarish,” with versatility at all three outfield positions and first base. He adds athleticism on the basepaths and the ability to protect Judge in the lineup.
“He’s been a star -- in every way,” Boone said.
Looking back, it is difficult to believe the Yankees only had to part with a depth arm (Cody Poteet) to acquire Bellinger from the Cubs, who tossed in $5 million to offset Bellinger’s salary. Poteet never even pitched for Chicago, who viewed Bellinger as surplus. For the Yankees, he’s been indispensable.
“He’s a hell of a player on both sides of the ball,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “He’s been a positive addition. He really has, so I’m glad we were able to run into him this offseason when we did. He’s really helped lengthen our lineup and improve our defense in a big way.”
So what does the future hold? Though agent Scott Boras nudged Cashman to make the trade last December, hinting that Bellinger was interested in playing for the Yankees, Bellinger has a $25 million player option for 2026 that he is likely not to exercise.
The industry expectation is that Bellinger will test free agency, but it would not be a surprise for the Yanks to seek a reunion. Though Bellinger isn’t ready to touch that topic yet, he’d probably be receptive after a season he called “really fun.”
“I'm enjoying it,” Bellinger said. “Anytime that you can get meaningful games in September, that's really all you can ask for, right? We’re all here for one goal, and so are a lot of other teams in this league. We just focus on ourselves in here and just continue to try and play our best baseball.”