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Hello MLB and New York Yankees fans! Welcome to the latest edition of Mistretta's Musings. Yankees fans, before making me public enemy No. 1 for even suggesting that someone can challenge Aaron Judge for the 2025 American League MVP Award, the fact that a Yankees player is being selected for this honor is a positive for the team. As for MLB fans who are probably thinking I am overreacting to a strong first series, well, let's take a deep dive into why Cody Bellinger is poised for a huge '25 campaign in New York.
Judge earned the 2024 American League MVP Award. In all reality, Judge will make another MVP run in 2025 as long as he can stay healthy. We aren't here to question Judge's MVP chances, rather, we are simply discussing how Bellinger is the perfect fit with the Yankees.
Baseball fans are probably taking to social media right now to scream the following in all capital letters: “WHAT ABOUT BOBBY WITT JR.?”
Witt can certainly make an MVP run as well. He was a popular preseason AL MVP pick. The Kansas City Royals shortstop has become one of the best players in the sport.
How can Bellinger join Judge and Witt in the AL MVP voting?
Cody Bellinger is the perfect fit with Yankees
My Bellinger MVP consideration prediction isn't strictly an overreaction to his scorching hot first series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Sure, his .400/.357/.700/1.057 slash line is intriguing, but it has only been three games.
It seems as if Bellinger is going to hit second in front of Judge, something that will lead to a quality dose of good pitches to crush. Bellinger is going to see some of the best pitches to hit in his career batting in front of the reigning AL MVP. There isn't a pitcher in baseball who wants to risk walking Bellinger and putting a runner on base with Judge waiting in the on-deck circle.
Bellinger, a former MVP himself (2019), also offers speed and defense, two things the Yankees have desperately needed in past seasons. No, he isn't going to win a stolen base title, but Bellinger has swiped 14 or more bases in four separate years during his career. The Yankees may want him to try to steal more bases in an effort to consistently get into scoring position.
Meanwhile, Bellinger can play any outfield position (as well as first base if necessary). If he continues to play left field, he could receive Gold Glove consideration. The 29-year-old has won a Gold Glove before, accomplishing the feat in 2019.
Bellinger's potential MVP case
Being a good fit with a team and earning MVP votes do not always go together. In this scenario, however, they very well could.
It goes without saying, but Bellinger will need to stay healthy in order to earn serious consideration for the award. If he can stay healthy, Bellinger's ceiling remains high. He isn't even 30 years old and features the potential of an MVP.
Say Bellinger appears in 140 games. Hitting in front of Judge — not to mention the short right field fence at Yankee Stadium — Bellinger can realistically hit 30-35 home runs. He also hit over .300 as recently as 2023, when he recorded a .307 batting average to go along with an .881 OPS with the Chicago Cubs.
If Cody Bellinger is able to hit around .300 with an OPS around .900 while slugging 30-35 home runs he will earn some MVP votes. However, if Bellinger can impact the game in multiple ways — stealing 15-20 bases while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense — his MVP chances will become even more interesting.
In the end, Aaron Judge or Bobby Witt Jr. will probably take home AL MVP honors. The possibility of Cody Bellinger finishing as an AL MVP finalist alongside Judge and Witt should not be ruled out, though. And if Bellinger does enjoy an MVP-caliber campaign, one has to imagine the Yankees will find themselves in contention to win another American League East division title.
