Cody Bellinger is the clear choice as the Yankees seek a center fielder, ideally a left-handed batter.

What makes the 28-year-old former MVP appealing to the Yankees is, of course, also what makes them far from being his sole free agent suitor.

In addition, there are also concerns regarding the potential implications of Bellinger’s underlying analytics for a long-term agreement.

For what it’s worth, Bellinger is far from a sure bet to start in center field for the Yankees in 2019.

Who else would it be if not him?

Based on the Yankees’ plans for the offseason and their assessment of Jasson Dominguez’s future with the team, Kevin Kiermaier and Jung Hoo Lee are two potential backup center fielders.

An option for the near future would be Kiermaier, a seasoned player with exceptional defensive skills who has played his whole career in the American League East.

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In his most recent season, the 33-year-old left-handed batter had a career high оffensive performance for the Blue Jays, hitting.265 with an on-base percentage of.741 and fourteen steals.

Until Dominguez is ready to return from Tommy John surgery (perhaps around midseason), Kiermaier would be a good match to cover in center field. He is likely to receive a raise from the one-year, $9 million deal he played on last season.

Lee may be a fascinating addition to the Yankees’ center field situation if they consider Dominguez their long-term left fielder rather than center fielder.

Early in December, his KBO team will post the 25-year-old left-handed hitter. However, there may be even more teams interested in him than Bellinger, partly due to his lower price tag.

Known for his high-contact, low-strikeout approach, Lee was the KBO MVP in 2022 but missed time this year due to a broken ankle. The Yankees have been missing a hitter with this style of swing, except than DJ LeMahieu.

Lee drew 115 walks and struck out 55 times in 1,014 plate appearances over 228 games in 2022 and 2023, for a strikeout rate of 5.4%.

During the same time span, the strikeout rate for the entire KBO league was 18.2%.

As impressive as Lee’s bat-to-ball ability is, the striking out percentage of just 5% is the most striking feature. “It’s never happened before,” commented Scott Boras, Lee’s agent, during last month’s GM meetings.  “A lot of people are interested in him because of his power, speed, and elite center field [defense] abilities, as well as his low strikeout rate and control of the strike zone.”

How well Lee’s plate discipline and power translate to Major League Baseball is something the Yankees will need to figure out.

It took Ha-Seong Kim, an infielder for the Padres, a year and a half to adjust to the difference pitching in the majors after making the switch from the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO).

Lee was supposed to visit the US this month and spend about three weeks exercising at Boras’ training facility.

Before launching the signing period, the superagent intended to have teams observe Lee at workouts.

Boras mentioned that Jung Hoo has premiums in center field. His power and defensive prowess make him an asset. Thus, I believe Jung Hoo will introduce K-Pop to the Major League Baseball.

The free agent market for center fielders starts to decline once Bellinger, Kiermaier, and Lee are no longer available.

Just like Kiermaier, right-handed hitter Harrison Bader has excellent fielding, but he had a rough go of it offensively and battled injuries until the Yankees placed him on waivers in August.

To locate a center fielder, the Yankees might potentially try to trade for one.

St. Louis had an excess of outfielders, including switch-hitter Dylan Carlson, so they had discussed possible transactions with the Cardinals in the days preceding up to the trade deadline.

Even if the Cardinals have signed three starters in a bold free agency move, the trade of an outfielder was still a possibility in order to get starting pitching.