Cody James Bellinger (born July 13, 1995) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs. He was selected by the Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB draft and debuted with them in 2017.
The son of MLB player Clay Bellinger, Bellinger helped his team reach the 2007 Little League World Series at the age of 11. He played high school baseball for Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona. Bellinger spent two years in the Rookie Leagues before joining the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in 2015, where he was a mid- and postseason all-star, and helped the team to a California League championship title. A hip injury delayed his rise through the Dodgers' farm system in 2016, but he was called up to the major leagues in April 2017 to bolster a struggling outfield.
Bellinger, setting a number of Dodgers single-season home run records, participated in both the 2017 MLB All-Star Game and in the Home Run Derby. He was named the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year after the season. The following year, he was named the MVP of the 2018 National League Championship Series following an extra innings walk-off single that helped take the Dodgers to the 2018 World Series. He received the NL MVP, Silver Slugger, and Gold Glove Awards in 2019, as well as his second All-Star selection. Bellinger won his first World Series title with the Dodgers in 2020 over the Tampa Bay Rays. However, a number of injuries to his shoulder, calf, and rib cage caused 2021 to be a career-worst year for Bellinger in home runs and batting average. After another down year in 2022, Bellinger was non-tendered by the Dodgers and eventually signed with the Cubs following the offseason. He won NL Comeback Player of the Year in his first season with Chicago before being traded to the Yankees following his second season with the Cubs in 2024. Bellinger was named to his third All-Star Game in 2026 where he was named All-Star Game MVP.
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Early life
Cody James Bellinger was born on July 13, 1995, in Scottsdale, Arizona, to Clay and Jennifer Bellinger. His mother works for Sotheby's International Realty, while his father played for the New York Yankees and Anaheim Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1999 to 2002, winning two World Series in that span. Clay Bellinger also coached the Chandler, Arizona National Little League team, for whom his son played when they went to the 2007 Little League World Series (LLWS). Cody was only 11 years old at the time, one year younger than most of his LLWS teammates, but he helped to clinch a berth in the series with a four-runs batted in (RBI) performance in the Little League West Regional. Chandler advanced to the LLWS in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, but was eliminated in the semifinals by teams from Lubbock, Texas and Warner Robins, Georgia.
A few years later, Bellinger became a standout baseball player for Hamilton High School in Chandler. He was voted team MVP as both a junior and as a senior, and hit .429 in his senior season. Although scouts from the Yankees invited Bellinger to a pre-draft practice, most baseball teams were uninterested in using a high draft pick on Bellinger, who stood 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) but weighed only 170 pounds (77 kg) in his final year of high school, and who hit only one home run that season.
Professional career
Minor leagues (2013–17)
The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Bellinger in the fourth round, 124th overall, of the 2013 MLB draft. At the time, he had committed to play college baseball for the Oregon Ducks. Bellinger chose to forego his commitment to Oregon to sign with the Dodgers for a signing bonus of $700,000, approximately $300,000 more than what was recommended for a fourth-round draft pick. He spent the season with the Rookie League AZL Dodgers, batting .210 in 162 at-bats, with one home run, 30 RBIs, and 25 runs scored. He showed some difficulties with plate discipline, striking out 46 times in 47 games, but showed potential by drawing 31 walks and recording 16 extra-base hits. He continued in Rookie ball the following season with the Ogden Raptors, batting .328 with 34 RBIs in 46 Pioneer League games.
Assigned to the Class A-Advanced Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, the 2015 season was Bellinger's first full year in the minor leagues. His prospect performance started to gain attention when, by June 11, he was fifth in the California League with 12 home runs, and was at least three years younger than every other top-five hitter. Although his .557 slugging percentage was comparatively low, this was due in part to the shape of the Rancho Cucamonga Epicenter, which limited home runs. After making an appearance at the midseason California League All-Star Game, Bellinger was also the selected designated hitter for the California League postseason All-Star team. Following the regular minor league season, he helped the Quakes to a Cal League championship title, registering three extra-base hits, including the game-winning home run, to complete their sweep of the San Jose Giants. For his performance, Bellinger was named the California League Championship Series MVP. He batted .264 for the Quakes, recording 30 home runs, 103 RBIs, and 97 runs in 478 at bats.
After a strong spring training performance in which he batted .393 in 18 games, Bellinger opened the 2016 season with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League. He missed the first part of the Double-A season with a strained hip, and upon returning from the disabled list in May, Bellinger struggled to make contact, batting .150 through his first 50 at-bats. His drought snapped on May 16, with a walk-off grand slam against the Arkansas Travelers. He spent the bulk of the season in Tulsa, batting .263 with 23 home runs and 65 RBIs in 114 games, but was promoted to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers on September 3, in advance of the Pacific Coast League playoffs. He played in only three games for Oklahoma City that season, recording three home runs and six RBIs in the process. Having missed a month of the season with his injured hip, Bellinger played for the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League, earning All-Fall League team honors. In 20 games with Glendale, Bellinger hit .314 with three home runs, eight doubles, and 17 RBIs, and he was named a member of the AFL Top Prospects Team.
Los Angeles Dodgers (2017–22)
Faced with a struggling and injured outfield, the Dodgers called Bellinger up on April 25, 2017, giving him the start in left field and eighth position in the batting order for that night's game against the San Francisco Giants. Bellinger scored his first major league hit that night, an infield ground ball towards third base. He was also the third Dodger since 1913 to be intentionally walked in his MLB debut, following Chico Fernández in 1956 and Dick Nen in 1963. Four days later, Bellinger hit the first and second home runs of his major league career in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, first in the seventh inning against Zach Eflin and again as the second of three consecutive home runs against closer Héctor Neris. His first career grand slam came the following week on May 6, helping take the Dodgers to a 10–2 victory over the San Diego Padres and Bellinger to five home runs and 14 RBIs in his first 11 major league games. With a total of nine home runs in May, Bellinger tied Joc Pederson and James Loney for the most home runs by a Dodgers rookie in one month of the season, and his total of 11 home runs in 32 games made him the fastest Dodgers rookie in history to reach that mark.
A series of multi-home run games in June helped Bellinger set several team and MLB records. On June 13, Bellinger became the fastest player in MLB history to record four multi-home run games, doing so in 45 contests; the previous record was set by Bob Horner with 63 games in 1978. He was also the first Dodger to have consecutive multi-home run games since Adrián Beltré in 2004, and was the third Dodgers rookie to record at least four multi-home run games in one season. In the first inning of an outing against the New York Mets on June 19, his 51st career MLB game, Bellinger tied Gary Sánchez and Wally Berger as the fastest players to reach 20 home runs. In the next inning, he recorded an additional solo shot against Zack Wheeler to become the fastest player to 21 home runs. The following day, a first-inning hit off of Robert Gsellman helped Bellinger to become the first rookie in MLB history to record 10 home runs in a span of 10 games. With his sixth two-home run game of the season on June 25, Bellinger passed Mike Piazza's team rookie record for most multi-home run games in one season, and led the NL with 24 total home runs. He capped off the first half of the season with his first appearances in both the Major League Baseball All-Star Game and in the Home Run Derby. At the latter, Bellinger hit 27 home runs across two rounds, defeating Charlie Blackmon before falling to Aaron Judge of the Yankees in the semifinals.
While facing the Miami Marlins on July 15, Bellinger became the first Dodgers rookie in history to hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs, and two runs. With his 35th home run of the year on September 2, Bellinger tied Mike Piazza's Dodgers rookie record; he broke Piazza's record the following day with a ninth-inning shot off of Padres closer Brad Hand. On September 22, Bellinger's 39th career home run both helped the Dodgers clinch the NL West title over the San Francisco Giants and broke Wally Berger and Frank Robinson's record for the most National League (NL) home runs made by a rookie. Bellinger finished his rookie MLB season hitting .267 with 39 home runs, 97 RBIs, and 87 runs scored in 480 at bats and 132 games.
Chicago Cubs (2023–24)
On December 14, 2022, Bellinger signed a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2024 with the Chicago Cubs. Bellinger was named the National League Player of the Month for July 2023. He had eight home runs, 24 RBIs, and a .400 batting average over that span. For the season, he had a .307 batting average and hit 26 home runs while driving in 97 RBI.
On November 3, 2023, Bellinger declined his mutual option and became a free agent. On February 27, 2024, he re-signed with the Cubs on a three-year, $80 million contract containing opt-out clauses after each of the first two seasons. Bellinger finished the 2024 season with a .266 average, 18 home runs, and 78 RBIs, and exercised the option on his contract for the 2025 season.
New York Yankees (2025-present)
On December 17, 2024, the Cubs traded Bellinger with $5 million in cash considerations to the New York Yankees in exchange for Cody Poteet. On May 4, 2025, Bellinger hit a two-run homer off Taj Bradley of the Tampa Bay Rays, his 200th career home run. On June 10, Bellinger recorded his 1,000th career hit when he hit an RBI single to right-center field off of pitcher Taylor Clarke in the sixth inning. On July 11, Bellinger hit three home runs against the Chicago Cubs as the Yankees won 11–0. It was Bellinger's first career three-homer game. On September 2, Bellinger was named the American League Player of the Week for the 23rd week of the season after going 12-for-27 (.444) and slugging 1.278 with two home runs and eight RBI in that period, including three doubles and two home runs. It was his first AL POTW honor and his first POTW honor since 2022. Bellinger finished the 2025 season with a .272/.334/.480 slash line, with 29 home runs, and 98 RBI. He opted-out of his contractual player option for the 2026 season, making him a free agent.
During the offseason, Bellinger was one of the most highly rated free agent position players and reportedly attracted varying degrees of interest from several teams. On January 26, 2026, Bellinger re-signed with the Yankees to a five-year contract, which included a total value of $162.5 million, with player opt-outs after the second and third years of the contract and a full no-trade clause. Bellinger was named an All-Star in 2026, his first time since 2019 with the Dodgers, and subsequently won the All Star MVP, after scoring the winning runs of the game in the 1st with a 2 RBI single.
Batting style
Bellinger, originally much weaker while batting than fielding, became a power hitter after making a change to his batting stance during the 2014–15 offseason. Working with Shawn Wooten and Damon Mashore, Bellinger incorporated a small hand and wrist movement into his "load phase," which prepared him to make strong contact with the ball. In response to concerns that he was "standing too tall and straight-legged" in the batter's box during the 2018 season, making it difficult to build momentum, Bellinger made a number of other changes during the 2018–19 offseason, including adopting a more relaxed position at the plate and aiming to hit under breaking balls rather than over. These changes, coupled with showing greater discretion in choosing when to swing, helped Bellinger make contact more frequently and with greater power during his MVP season.
Personal life
Bellinger has one brother, Cole, who is four years his junior. A standout pitcher for Hamilton High School, Cole was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 15th round of the 2017 MLB draft. Cole played for two seasons in the Padres farm system before retiring from baseball in 2021.
Bellinger has two daughters with wife Chase Carter, born November 2021 and April 2023.
A character inspired by Bellinger makes a cameo appearance in the video game Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The player character must defeat Viking Otta Sluggasson, who wields a tree trunk like a baseball bat, during one story section. Bellinger, an avid gamer, recorded his movements using motion capture technology, with his own baseball bat serving as Sluggasson's weapon.