Last-minute Yankees Cody Bellinger scramble won't prevent Blue Jays, Mets bidding war

The possibility of either the New York Mets or Toronto Blue Jays stealing Cody Bellinger from the Yankees comes purely down to motivation. If either club wants to blow the Yankees away, they can. They can make this very difficult.

The only question now is how much of a consolation prize do they really view Bellinger as?

Late Thursday night, following the Dodgers' four-year, $240 million splash on Kyle Tucker — with an opt-out after Year 2 — Jon Heyman reported that the Yankees have both added a second opt-out to their Bellinger offer, as well as provided a massive signing bonus in an effort to get things done without tacking on a sixth year (or caving to a seventh).

That's a very enticing offer. Of course, that was also true before Tucker tossed a grenade into the market. But Bellinger (and Scott Boras) waited for a reason. Now, there's a pair of aggrieved Tucker also-rans who might be motivated by vengeance.

Yankees make last-minute adjustments to Cody Bellinger contract offer

Any Mets offer that competes with what the Yankees put together probably won't provide Bellinger with the seven years he's seeking. But they could repurpose Tucker's money and give him a short-term deal that makes the Yankees' offer look like a pittance. Is he really turning down four years and $200 million, despite his camp's repeated claims and preferences?

Now, in order to do that, Steve Cohen would have to be akin to a madman. That Bellinger valuation would be absurd. He'd be better off channeling those funds into Framber Valdez or using the farm to pull off a Freddy Peralta trade (or maybe Jarren Duran?). Cohen claims that such spending eventually will become unsustainable, even for him. But if he wanted to inflict pain on the Yankees, he certainly could. A four-year mega-offer won't be countered. He'll get Bellinger (and will have to gulp and deal with the imperfect ballpark fit).

Toronto? Now that's the team that could make Bellinger's seven-year dreams come true immediately. They'd probably prefer a Bo Bichette reunion, but he just signed a three-year deal with the Mets. Another stunner.

Rosenthal's post-Tucker column didn't seem to lend much credence to either the Mets or Blue Jays in a hypothetical Bellinger war; he believes it's unlikely the Mets splurge, and didn't even mention Toronto and the Yankees' target, focusing on Nathan Lukes instead. But if either spurned Tucker suitor decides they'd like to do some ego damage to the Bronx Bombers, the Yankees adding second opt-out (or additional bells and whistles) won't be able to do anything about it.