The Yankees are beginning to fill their Juan Soto-sized hole in the outfield.
The Bronx Bombers have acquired outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger from the Cubs after being spurned by Soto, The Post’s Joel Sherman confirmed.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan broke the news.
They are sending Chicago right-handed reliever Cody Poteet, in exchange for Bellinger and $5 million.
The Cubs, ironically, landed Yankees target Kyle Tucker on Friday in a three-for-one trade.
The Bellinger acquisition is the second trade in a short span for the Yankees, who traded for Brewers’ star closer Devin Williams in exchange for Nestor Cortes and prospect Caleb Durbin on Friday.
With Soto choosing to spend the next five to 15 years in Flushing rather than The Bronx, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and his team had to attempt to offset that loss.
The team had been linked to first baseman Christian Walker, but that pursuit cooled while the team instead pursued Tucker and Bellinger.
Both fit the mold as lefty outfielders, like Soto, with plenty of pop.
The Yankees tried for Tucker, but Houston’s ask of AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil in any offer played a factor in the Astros sending him to the north side of Chicago.
Instead, the Yankees are adding a former NL MVP.
Bellinger, 29, revitalized his career in Chicago after a poor ending with the Dodgers.
The lefty hit .266 with a .751 OPS last season, to go along with 18 homers, 78 RBIs and nine steals.
He provides multi-position versatility, manning first base and all three outfield spots for the Cubs last year.
That versatility will help since the Yankees don’t have a set first baseman yet, and Bellinger could allow them to pursue both an outfielder and first baseman this winter.
Bellinger is a solid defender, having won a Gold Glove in right field in 2019.
He had a plus-one outs above average (OAA) value at first base in 2024 and is plus-29 in the outfield for his career, per Fangraphs.
He did post a minus-one rating as an outfielder last year, though.
Bellinger has two years and $52.5 million remaining on his contract, with a $25 million player option for 2026 that can be bought out for $5 million.
That contract had been an issue in earlier talks, with The Post reporting Friday that the Yankees wanted Chicago to eat a chunk of the remaining money and the teams being more than $10 million apart.
He has Yankees ties as his father, Clay, played for the franchise from 1999-2001.
Even with the new lefty slugger on board, the Yankees could still possibly use another bat or two.
The Yankees have been active on the pitching side, signing Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million deal and adding one of the best closers in the sport in Williams.
