Lucas Boland-Imagn Images
Cody Bellinger’s dad, former Major League Baseball player Clay Bellinger, threw a little shade Juan Soto’s way this week. He says the New York Yankees are better off now than if they had re-signed the perennial All-Star in the off-season.
Clay Bellinger, who played outfield, first base and third base for the Yankees and Anaheim Angels from 1999 to 2002, told TMZ that he believes the Yankees not keeping Juan Soto freed them up to sign a collection of players that far outweighs what Soto brings to the table.
“Juan’s good, he’s obviously an incredible hitter, but I think by going out and getting Cody and the way he can hit and the way he can play defense and obviously what Max [Fried] has done and what [Paul Goldschmidt] Goldie’s done, yeah, you’re getting three, four guys instead of one. I think it’s, I mean, ended up being a no-brainer, for me anyway.”
For the record, in the very short sample size there is to deal with thus far, Juan Soto is batting .224 with 8 home runs, and 25 RBI. (His career 162-game average is .281, 34 home runs, and 101 RBI.) Cody Bellinger, Clay’s son, is batting .258 with 8 home runs, and 32 RBI; Paul Goldschmidt is batting .347 with 5 home runs, and 27 RBI; and Max Fried is 7-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 11 starts.
So, obviously, based on those numbers, the New York Yankees signing those three players versus paying Juan Soto $700 million looks like the smart move, so far.
During his conversation with TMZ, Clay Bellinger also brought up another unique point of interest with regard to his famous son’s Major League Baseball career.
“It’s pretty cool, pretty amazing to say that he’s been with three teams and have been the Dodgers, Cubs, and now the Yankees,” he pointed out. “Three of the most iconic baseball organizations franchises in history.”