Yankees media arguing over Kyle Tucker or Cody Bellinger making for awkward discourse

The conversation regarding how the New York Yankees solve their outfield puzzle is starting to get heated, and the questions being asked only prove to cloud the path forward even more. Cody Bellinger's decision to opt out was not unexpected, and while a lot of chatter surrounds whether or not the Yankees should bring him or teammate Trent Grisham back, Kyle Tucker has entered the chat.

Tucker had a contingent of fans clamoring for him last offseason once it became clear that the Houston Astros were going to move their star outfielder. In many ways, he would have been the prime Juan Soto replacement, but instead, the Yankees took a different path, knowing they'd once again meet Tucker at the crossroads of this winter's hot stove.

Now, with just money standing in the way of bringing either of these stud outfielders (back) to the Bronx, sides are forming, and the noise coming from the media is getting hard to cut through.

Yankees media is split as to whether Kyle Tucker or Cody Bellinger is the right play for the outfield

SNY's Andy Martino has presented the case for Bellinger over Tucker, citing his versatility, defensive value, ability to play center field, and base running as key points to support his argument.

With that, The Athletic's Chris Kirschner fired back to debunk some of Martino's claims. Kirschner points out that the difference in offensive value, a point which Martino concedes, is more than negligible, and that with the bat Tucker does all of the things that made Yankees fans fall in love with Bellinger, only better.

Furthermore, Kirschner provides data that shows Tucker is actually a better base runner, while conceding that, as a corner outfielder, Tucker is inferior defensively. He couches that point with the fact that Bellinger graded out as a negative defender in center field (-3 DRS over 306.1 innings), while posing the question of how many playoff games are decided by a corner outfielder's glove versus his bat?

As you can see, lines are being drawn and camps are being formed. However, neither addressed the other factor that will certainly play a role  — money.

Per Spotrac, Tucker's market value is a ten-year, $401.8 million deal, which comes out to a $40.2 million average annual value. Bellinger, on the other hand, is listed at six years and $182.7 million, for a $30.4 million AAV. Forget about the length for a second and focus on the AAV; that's what matters for luxury tax purposes, and the final tax line is all the Yankees brass cares about.

The Yankees could conceivably re-sign Bellinger and then swing a trade for a starter like Freddy Peralta ($8 million luxury tax hit) or Hunter Greene ($8.83 million luxury tax hit) and still come in at a lower number against the 2026 tax than signing Tucker alone.

Essentially, it's the same quantity over quality argument that justified the acquisitions of Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt after losing out on Juan Soto last offseason.

It's getting convoluted now, right? There's also another, much simpler argument to be made. The Yankees could just put on their big boy pants, throw tax concerns to the wind, and say por qué no los dos?

After all, if they're really tired of a 16-year title drought and watching the Los Angeles Dodgers get all the glory, they need to be willing to do things that only the Dodgers would do. That would mean sacrificing profits and investing in the on-field product at the same level as the two teams facing off in the World Series.