After a long process where the parties couldn’t reach an agreement, Cody Bellinger has finally returned to the New York Yankees-not without first exploring MLB free agency. The Bronx Bombers came close to losing him, but now they must be more than satisfied because it was the player himself who recently spoke about his commitment.
Bellinger says no to the WBC
After signing a five-year, $162.5 million contract, Bellinger has made it clear that he will have no distractions and will even skip the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
He confirmed this in a recent conversation with Jack Curry of SNY, stating plainly that he will not accept an invitation to the competition-even if Team USA offers him a spot on the roster.
“I definitely want to do it at some point in my career. Obviously, you never know what the future holds. Don’t think this year is gonna be the year,” he said. “Going into spring training you kinda just wanna focus on what’s at hand here and the task at hand. I owe it to the Steinbrenner family and the Yankee organization to go and give my best foot forward and try and win a championship.”
This isn’t the first Yankee to make the same decision: team captain Aaron Judge did exactly that in 2023, turning down an invitation to focus 100% on the club. However, for this edition of the World Baseball Classic, Judge has been selected as captain of Team USA and will participate alongside his teammate David Bednar.
Bellinger still has the chance to experience something similar in a future edition of the World Baseball Classic, although dates for the next one haven’t been announced yet. That said, baseball will return to the Olympic Games in 2028 in Los Angeles, and he could represent the United States in his hometown.
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