What's good y'all? It's Von Miller, Super Bowl MVP, Sagmaster, and now your host of Free Range.

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conversations with the people shaping the league. Welcome to Free Range with Von Miller, where nothing is off limits and every down counts. New episodes every Wednesday. Listen and follow Free Range with me, Von Miller, wherever you get your podcast. We did a lot of Mets yesterday and thinking about the Yankees, and it does tie into the Mets a little bit with Cody Bellinger, but thinking about the Yankees after Brian Cashman spoke yesterday, I don't think the Yankees can have a good offseason. If it doesn't include bringing Cody Bellinger back, we went over this last year with Juan Soto, and we know what the Yankees did with Plan B and all that. I don't know how you can make a case for the Yankees to make their team better, which is what they need to do.

Because progressively, they've gotten worse going from World Series to Division Series. Got to get better and close the gap. I don't know if they could get better without Cody Bellinger. You know what's funny? First of all, I don't really disagree. And I think it really applies to the Mets as well. Now, we did the Mets stuff. Yes, I think Bellinger is a guy who would make them that so much better,

and then obviously if he left the Yankees, it would make the Yankees so much more vulnerable. But when you contrast at least so far, and maybe it's going to change. And a lot of this is around Pete. I get that. But like, there's a lot of juice and anticipation and energy for the Mets off season, I'm not feeling it for the Yankees.

Now, that doesn't mean that it can't wind up being really good. See, I think what it comes down to for Belanger, and I do think he's going to stay, right? And I think he's got to be target number one. You could get to some other stuff, and we'll get to it as well. You lose Bellinger a lot changes because then maybe Grisham becomes more important. Now you rely on a Dominguez Jones combination. Who knows if they're going to be ready? But I am not worried, and I don't know where you stand on this, but I'm not really worried about overpaying for Bellinger. I'm going to tell you why. Now, there are certain players that I am worried about that with. I look at Bellinger, and I see a guy who, even when he goes 0-4, can help the Yankees win a game. He can make a play in left, can make a play in center, can make a play in right, can make a play at first, can make a play on the bases. And for the most part, it's going to put the bat on the ball to at least, you know, maybe scratch out or run the non-conventional way.

So I don't know if it's going to go to six years. I don't know if it's going to go to seven. I don't know if it's going to 180 or 190. Wherever it goes, you have to pay it. That's it. Right. And that's kind of the point. And furthermore, there was an excuse last year to lose Juan Soto because Soto clearly wanted to take the most money.

I don't believe, now I don't know this. I'm sure Belanger wants to get paid and he's going to go with the best offer, but a combination of things. Juan Soto wanted the most money. He went left for the mess. Didn't care who was going to give it to him. He just wanted to take that. I believe Bellinger wants to be back. And if that's the case, I don't want to see the Yankees try to draw a line and be like, well, we value you here, but we're not going to get reckless. Now, when you do that, you run the risk of having a DJ LaMayhew type contract and you just have to live with it. but he's going into age 30 season. Forget about year six or year seven if you get to that point.

You're worried about year one through three. Yankees, I know they always have a championship window, but we're talking about right now, maximizing what they have with Aaron Judge and what they have in place with Garrett Cole and Freed and some of the young pitching, whatever. You're trying to win a World Series now. You're the New York Yankees. You got a player who thrived here last year, extremely versatile, good in the lineup with Judge. Just a perfect fit. I think wants to be a Yankee. Just get the deal done. Whatever the market value is, if you have to exceed it by a little bit, fair enough, just get the deal done. you're the New York Yankees. There should be no excuse. Last year they'd end out with Soto. There is no out with Bellinger. Well, I agree. And what I'd like to see the Yankees do, I mean, stop waiting around. Then I know we just started, so I'm not getting on them. But I don't want to see this thing drag out into, you know, early December. and other teams are set in the market on Belanger. How about the Yankees come out and they say,

hey, we want you. Here's a number. It's a healthy number in terms of AAV and length of contract. Let's get it done. Don't sit around waiting for these other teams today. Don't wait for the Mets. Don't wait for the Dodgers. Don't wait for whomever to jump back in. Especially if he wants to be here.

Yeah. And that seems to be the, I mean, it just looked like a natural fit last year and his dad played here. So there's evidence that or reasons you would think he would want to stay. I don't like, dude, you're the Yankees. You're going to let three more million dollars a year, an extra

a year. Like, what do we, we're talking nothing.

See, there's a difference in this. You could bring the

message in the conversation here as well. I've been thinking the same thing in regards to Pete Alonzo. There's a difference between being reckless and just being aggressive here early on. The Mets did this a couple years ago with D.S. He didn't want to go anywhere else.

They wanted them back.

Before we even hit the market, they got it done.

Boom.

Five years, $100 million deal.

And you could say that you want a player.

The Yankees could say that they want Bellinger.

Okay, well, if you want Bellinger, talk to him now.

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