MLB insider spots intriguing Luis Arraez - Cody Bellinger similarity

On Wednesday, MLB and New York Yankees insiders Ryan Sampson and Joel Sherman talked about the Yankees' offseason acquisition of Cody Bellinger.

On February 5's episode of "Pinstripe Post," Joel Sherman compared Cody Bellinger's style of play to that of San Diego Padres star Luis Arraez, who has won three batting titles in a row.

"If you know the profile of how Bellinger hits, he's a line-drive hitter. The batted ball profile should play at Yankee Stadium at a much higher level." Sherman said [49:40]. "We were doing it on the show, I was doing it on the podcast, I was writing it in the post that they (Yankees) should go get him (Bellinger)."

"Yes, there's some underlying stuff [related to his exit velo]. But, he's making it work. It's like Luis Arraez. He doesn't hit the ball hard, yeah, but he's won three batting titles in a row. At some point you have to say, he's doing something right," Sherman added [51:10]

With Juan Soto's departure in the offseason after a stellar season with the Bronx Bombers, Bellinger will be expected to share some of the hitting workload next season.

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Cody Bellinger will be looking to hit the ground running as a Yankee

Compared to his lofty standards, many would say Cody Bellinger had a year to forget in 2024, finishing the regular season with a .266 batting average, 18 home runs and 78 RBIs. To make matters worse, the Chicago Cubs had an off year, as they finished second in the NL Central, failing to qualify for the postseason.

During the offseason, reports emerged that the Cubs would be willing to offload Bellinger. The Yankees, who were looking to add quality to their squad after ending the 2024 season with a World Series loss, brought him in via a deal that saw right-handed pitcher Cody Poteet go the other way. Per reports, Yankees captain Aaron Judge was very keen on Bellinger's acquisition.

Having won an NL MVP award in 2019 and a World Series title in 2020, Cody Bellinger is very much a player who can deal with the pressure of playing for the biggest teams.

Heading into the new season, Bellinger will be looking to show that he still has plenty of quality to offer, and silence some of his doubters in the process.