Yankees and Cody Bellinger need to end this insane game of chicken

I heard from a major league executive the other day who offered his two cents from the sidelines of the Cody Bellinger sweepstakes.

It was sobering advice for hot-stove hardcores who check social media every 15 minutes.

“Don’t be surprised if this thing goes into February,” he said.

The “thing” needs no translation, not if you’re a Yankees fan wondering why talks between the club and the free agent slugger have gone nowhere since November.

It’s been a steady drumbeat of bad rumors, speculation and false alarms. Two months into this black hole, the Yankees and Bellinger are miles apart.

It seems incomprehensible, given how much Bellinger enjoyed playing in the Bronx. The front office and fans alike were all-in on a mature, friendly Yankee who could hit, play defense and almost always came through when it counted.

There’s nothing more that owner Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman want to do than to lock up Bellinger and get to work on the barren bullpen.

So what gives?

Both sides are responsible for what’s turned into a high-stakes game of chicken. The talks will collapse without compromise, but right now, neither side is willing to budge.

Bellinger is currently holding out for a seven-year deal. The Yankees absolutely refuse to go there.

I’m told, according to a person familiar with the situation, that Bellinger is also seeking $36-$37 million per year. The Yankees think that’s crazy, too, although there’s room for negotiation in that regard.

It’s the years that threaten to doom negotiations.

The Yankees aren’t wrong for denying Bellinger that seventh year. It’s an excessive commitment to a player who’s had an outstanding career that falls short of elite.

The time for Bellinger to pull down a record-setting deal was in his 20s, not going into his age-31 season. Unfortunately for him, a three-year slump from 2020-22 cost Bellinger a chance for generational stardom with the Dodgers.

Even the Cubs decided they’d seen enough after 2024, when they sent Bellinger to the Yankees in a salary-dump trade.

To be fair, he proved Chicago wrong last season. Those 29 home runs were the Bellinger hit since 2019. His .348 average with runners in scoring position was eight points better than Aaron Judge’s average with RISP. And playing elite defense at four positions was a manager’s dream.

Yet, despite the uptick in Bellinger’s offense, his strong presence in the clubhouse and an alliance with Judge, Yankees execs were convinced Bellinger would leave this winter.

With agent Scott Boras running point, the market for Bellinger was supposed to overheat. Steinbrenner vowed not to overpay. He didn’t want to get burned by Bellinger the way he did by Juan Soto, who left for the Mets on a 15-year, $765 million contract last offseason.

But free agency hasn’t been as generous to Bellinger as the Yankees originally thought. The Yankees suspect Boras may have overplayed his hand. With the possibility of a long labor dispute looming in 2027, many owners may be reluctant to spend wildly.

But here’s where the Yankees are playing chicken: They refuse to bid against themselves if the market has indeed cooled.

In their minds, the longer Bellinger goes unsigned, the greater the chance he and Boras will come to their senses and drop the demand for a seventh year.

It’s a risky move. The Yankees don’t appear to have a Plan B ready. Outfielder Kyle Tucker is too expensive, and infielder Bo Bichette is almost certainly headed to the Phillies, where Don Mattingly, his former bench coach in Toronto, will assume that same role at the other end of the Jersey Turnpike.

In a sane world, both Bellinger and the Yankees would’ve realized by now they need each other.

The setting is perfect for this simple solution: Bellinger drops the seventh year, the Yankees exceed $30 million per annually — it’s not my money, but I’d consider $34 million a fair deal — and both sides walk away happy.

Too bad there are other variables at play. Boras is a fierce, stubborn negotiator who takes control of the talks — not just with general managers but his clients, too.

I’m not sure it’s up to Bellinger to greenlight a six-year, $204 million deal with the Yankees. It’s more likely Boras will press on, even if it means delaying Bellinger’s arrival at spring training.

Remember, Boras hinted during the Winter Meetings that there were eight teams interested in Bellinger. Who knows if that’s true or if Boras was stretching the definition of “interest.”

Another exec I speak to regularly jokingly said, “When Scott says he has eight (teams), it probably means he has none. But there’s a difference between lying and bluffing. It’s how Scott generates interest in his clients. I just know to never underestimate him.”

This much is certain: the Yankees need Bellinger to hold off the Blue Jays. I don’t think the Yankees can win 94 games again with Trent Grisham in center field and Jasson Dominguez in left field.

No, the best plan is the only plan the Yankees have been pursuing all winter for the road to the playoffs: bring Bellinger back, find two more relievers and survive April without pitchers Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon.

Steinbrenner is convinced the nucleus is there. But the blueprint starts with Bellinger in pinstripes. Someone needs to blink.