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Cody Bellinger all but confirms Brian Cashman's Scott Boras claim at Yankees intro

Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Yanks Go Yard

Chicago Cubs v Philadelphia Phillies / Tim Nwachukwu/GettyImages

The New York Yankees made the move they had to make on Tuesday, finalizing a trade for Cody Bellinger. In the process, they took on the vast majority of Bellinger's money, exchanging swingman Cody Poteet for the 2019 NL MVP.

They also bought some post-Juan Soto goodwill with super agent Scott Boras -- not just because they agreed to relieve the Cubs of a troublesome salary, but because they got Bellinger to shut up. Really did Boras a solid.

According to Brian Cashman at Max Fried's introductory press conference, Boras has been attempting to get Bellinger to the Bronx for quite a while. The slugger, per reports, was "driving him crazy" trying to get to the Yankees.

Makes sense. After all, he's probably seen the Wrigley Field/Yankee Stadium overlays, too. As long as Bellinger's swing stays locked in, the ensuing 81 home games (plus the postseason) are about to get a lot more pleasant.

Yankees add Cody Bellinger, finally get him to stop bothering Scott Boras

Now, you scratch our back, we'll scratch yours, ok, Boras? We'll help out Belli. Maybe you can hook up some of those steak-and-mozzarella dinners Juan Soto's been having for Randy Levine and the boys?

In Bellinger's first media session with the Yankees on Thursday, he didn't quite confirm the report that he'd been agitating Boras all along. He certainly did, though, make it clear that he will relish the opportunity to play for "one of the best franchises in all of sports."

Despite the post-Soto spin machine (deeply annoying!), it's clear that there are plenty of non-$800 million unicorns who still value it very highly when the Yankees come calling.

Bellinger, just 29 years old, made it clear that he intends to roll that wOBA back over the baseline threshold in 2025, taking advantage of Yankee Stadium as a springboard, a ballpark where he would've hit 24 homers last season instead of 18, the reality he ended up with.

Once upon a time, though, he was a 47-homer guy. While a return to that level might be unreasonable, Bellinger noted that the possibility of reaching that high ceiling "keeps him motivated." He knows better than anyone that 81 games at Yankee Stadium represents the best recipe for such a comeback. No wonder he was always bugging Boras.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard for 6 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast thrice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for 10 years. He was also a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.