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The Blue Jays should pivot to Cody Bellinger after missing out on Kyle Tucker
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Photo credit: © Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jan 18, 2026, 17:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 18, 2026, 16:41 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays still need to add a bat.
Recently, the Blue Jays lost the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes and saw long-time Blue Jay Bo Bichette depart for the New York Mets. They’ve done a terrific job to address the pitching, signing Cody Ponce and Dylan Cease for the rotation, and Tyler Rogers for the bullpen, but the bat is still needed.
Last season, Bichette finished with a 131 wRC+, the best mark of his career. That’s a tough bat to replace, and as intriguing as Kazuma Okamoto is, they need at least one more bat to make this lineup even better. Enter Cody Bellinger.
Missing out on Tucker hurts because he was such a good fit for the Blue Jays. He’s a left-handed batter who rarely strikes out, can draw walks, plays solid outfield defence, and makes good contact, all while hitting second in the lineup. Bellinger is essentially Tucker-lite.
Contact? Bellinger can do that, as he hit .272 last season, .266 the year before, and .307 in 2023. That’s all while posting a strong strikeout rate, including a career-best 13.7 K% in 2025. While he doesn’t draw nearly as many walks as he did when he was in his MVP-form, Bellinger had a respectable 8.7 BB% in 2025.
Defensively, Bellinger has played all three outfield positions and first base in his career. In centre field, he’s not what he once was back at his best, but plays passable defence at the position. Last season, Bellinger excelled in right field, posting 8 Defensive Runs Saved, 2 Outs Above Average, and 4 Fielding Run Value. Going forward, right field should be Bellinger’s primary position, and the Jays have a need for that.
Adding an outfielder this off-season is a need, either through signing Bellinger or trading for one. Both Daulton Varsho and George Springer enter 2026 in the final year of their contract, and with weak free agency classes coming up the next two years, adding an outfielder now is important for the long-term.
Of course, there are concerns. Bellinger has been rather inconsistent in his career. In 2019, he won the National League MVP, then regressed hard over the next three seasons. Joining the Chicago Cubs in 2023, Bellinger tweaked his approach and went on to have a season where he had a 135 wRC+ and 4.4 fWAR. Unfortunately, he was an average hitter the following season.
Last season, Bellinger hit 29 home runs, the most he’s hit since his MVP winning season where he went deep 47 times. All in all, he finished with a 125 wRC+ and 4.9 fWAR, the latter total being the second-best of his career.
Another concern is a particular split. No, it’s not his home and away split, but rather his inability to punish right-handed pitching. Bellinger has been a reverse split hitter since his approach change in 2023. In his first season with the Cubs, he batted .337 with 10 home runs in 183 plate appearances against lefties, while hitting .291 with 16 home runs in 373 plate appearances against righties.
It was the same case in .298, albeit his numbers across the board dropped. Against lefties, Bellinger hit .298 with four home runs in 167 plate appearances, as opposed to .251 with 14 home runs in 402 plate appearances against right-handed pitchers. Last season, he batted .353 with eight home runs in 176 plate appearances against lefties, while batting just .244 against righties, albeit with 21 home runs in 480 plate appearances.
Of course, it is important to mention his splits at Yankee Stadium and on the road. Last season, he hit .302 with 18 home runs in .337 plate appearances at home, and batted just .244 with 11 home runs in 319 plate appearances on the road. Over the last three years, this is the only outlier, as he was a better road hitter in 2024 and had similar splits in 2023.
Lastly, the fact he wants a long-term contract is a bit worrisome given his inconsistency. He’ll likely never regain the form he had in 2019, but having him at a 120 wRC+ level as a Blue Jay would be a big boost to their lineup. Get him in a room with hitting coach Dave Popkins, and who knows what could happen.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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