ORLANDO, Fla. — Right now, there are only bread crumbs.
Hal Steinbrenner has said he would like to curtail payroll. Brian Cashman has indicated the Yankees have gotten too left-handed. Add one and one, and it becomes a little fuzzier to see how they re-sign Cody Bellinger — a lefty-swinger who is going to receive a sizable contract that without subtraction elsewhere would take the Yankees well beyond the $300 million threshold the owner has pronounced many times over the years he would like to get under.
Now, Cashman noted that Bellinger hits lefties — his .353 average and 1.016 OPS the best left-on-left last season (minimum 75 plate appearances). And there is no guesswork with Bellinger — he can handle New York, plus all three outfield spots and first base, and do it all with a high baseball IQ.
So the Yankees could just be waiting to see what the true market is to retain Bellinger and will pounce if it is a comfortable level. But the Yankees clearly have Plans B, C, D because besides Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt (.981 OPS vs. lefties) is definitely not coming back, and the Yankees parted over the previous 12 months with the kinds of righty bats — Gleyber Torres, Chad Durbin and Carlos Narváez — who might help now.
