Jeff Passan confirms Yankees are waiting to get their way with Cody Bellinger

Days have turned into weeks, and then weeks into months, yet there has been little movement on the Cody Bellinger front. Bellinger is reportedly a New York Yankees' priority, and as we rang in 2026 the club made a formal offer to the 2019 NL MVP.

Bellinger's asking price is said to be sky high as the 30-year-old outfielder seeks the lucrative long-term deal that has long eluded him, and it's reasonable to assume that if the Yankees' offer was in line with his demands, we'd have heard something by now.

Instead, it's been crickets. The good news is that the rest of the field of contenders for Bellinger's services have also balked at his price, providing hope that he'll come to his senses and sign for a reasonable rate. ESPN's Jeff Passan dropped a nugget that confirmed the Yankees' hardline stance on their top target.

Jeff Passan confirms that the Yankees are standing their ground regarding Cody Bellinger

Responding to a question on social media, Passan wrote, "With (Spencer) Jones (and Jasson Dominguez), the Yankees have enough to field a representative outfield. And yet nobody would argue that they are a demonstrably better team with Cody Bellinger in pinstripes. Until his price drops, the Yankees don't seem inclined to budge."

Continuing on, Passan noted that "...of course, moves from other AL East teams could change that calculus. Wish I had a more definitive answer. It's just all very fluid."

On the flip side, Bellinger appears to be in no hurry. There's a strong belief that he's waiting for Kyle Tucker's situation to settle with the hopes that Tucker lands a mega deal that buoys Belli's market. However, with teams seemingly prepared to wait out the top-tier free agents, the opposite could happen, forcing Tucker into a short-term pillow contract and dragging down Bellinger's price as a result.

Right now, it would seem that the Yankees have the upper hand. As disappointing as it would be to see him bolt, Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones at least give the Yankees options, and it seems that they're making that clear to him.

Of course, all it takes is one team to get desperate to turn everything on its head. If a club comes out of left field and comes close to giving Bellinger what he wants, it could incite a bidding war that backfires on the Yankees.

It's a wait-and-see game for now, and while it's frustrating to sit on the sidelines and wait, the longer things drag on, the better things may work out for the Yankees.