With the holiday season in full swing, and Black Friday sales in full effect, we thought it would be fun to wonder what it would be like if free agents had a Black Friday-like “sale” and accepted lower amounts of money like how a $70 TV is a loss-leader for many retailers. Who would eat some of the lower cost, would it be the agent or the player?
As a example, let’s discuss Cody Bellinger since he was already with the Yankees. In 2025, he made $26.667 million in 2025, and is projected to sign for about $30.5 million. How much of a discount would he accept in this scenario? When looking around to the various deals at retailers, most “doorbusters” are 25-40% off of their MSRP. Hypothetically speaking, that may put Bellinger at about $21.3 million per year, or thereabouts. Considering his production in 2025 and his public declaration for wanting to return to the Bronx in 2026, that’s something that the Yankees would likely jump on.
However, unlike Black Friday deals, his price would be sold to the highest bidder. Still, even if his asking price went up to $25-27 million, 20% higher than the “sale” price, it would still be a “deal”, relatively speaking. Since we’re looking for the best deal, Bellinger would provide that regardless of any theoretical sale because he could both play 1B and could provide utility as a backup outfielder in case any of Dominguez, Grisham, Judge and potentially Jones, get injured.
Theoretically, the same would be applicable to any currently available free agent, from Tatsuya Imai to Kyle Tucker. That would likely incentivize the Yankees to re-sign Amed Rosario, who they have expressed interest in bringing back to the organization, and who earned $2 million in 2025.
Tucker made $16.5 million in 2025 and is expecting to command about $40 million/year per Spotrac. Even if he accepted a 30% “sale”, he would still nearly double his 2025 salary by earning $28.14 million/year. Assuming he signs a 7 year deal that would bring him to age 33, that would be 7/$196.98M.
With the Yankees needing bullpen depth, this is where they could get their best value. While I’m not suggesting an agent will offer a “buy two, get the third free” kind of promotion, saving serious coin here would allow the Yankees to seriously bolster their bullpen and not need to rely on an arm like that of Effross or Blackburn. Assuming the Yankees were to sign Imai, that would mean that one of either Gil, Schmidt or Schlittler would need to move to the bullpen. Given their ability to go long into a game, they would likely become a middle reliever or spot starter.
However, with Williams, Weaver, and Blackburn all now free agents, Cashman would be seeking to fill those roles. With Bednar and Doval the only current firm fixtures in the bullpen, but both coming off of arbitration, they need to find a reliever or two that they can lock down for a few years.
With Edwin Diaz opting out of his ~$20.4 million/yr contract, the Yankees could potentially sign him and bring him crosstown as their closer and make Bednar a set-up man like Jeff Nelson was for Mariano Rivera in the 90s. Given the hypothetical circumstance, let’s assume Diaz signs for a 25% discount and does a 4-year/55.02 million deal ($13.76M AAV). That would be incredible value for a guy that threw a 1.63 ERA in 62 games with the Mets in 2025 and limited batters to a .164 OBA.
Who else would you like to see the Yankees potentially sign for a “bargain”? What other holes in their offense/defense need to be patched that they don’t already have good options for?
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