Yankees have a lot of competition for outfielder Cody Bellinger, according to Scott Boras

ORLANDO, Fla. – In an offseason free-agent market short on quality outfielders, it’s no surprise the Yankees are facing plenty of competition for the player who is their No. 1 offseason priority – Cody Bellinger.

Bellinger’s agent, Scott Boras, during a meeting with reporters here at the winter meetings late Tuesday morning indicated, in addition to the Yankees, there was interest from a bevy of other clubs. That list includes the Mets, Giants, Phillies, Blue Jays, Angels, Reds and, of course, the Dodgers, who made the first big move of these meetings on Tuesday with the signing of Mets closer Edwin Diaz.

Boras, whose annual press gatherings at the November GM meetings and December winter meetings are eagerly anticipated if for no other reason than the generous sprinkling of puns and dad jokes that are in part a product of the super agent’s small team of office employees who double as sketch comedy writers, did not explicitly name the interested clubs.

Boras, who represents many of the biggest stars in the game – a stable that includes Pete Alonso, Bryce Harper and Gerrit Cole – instead ticked them off in his own inimitable way.

"It's not for me to JUDGE, but great players see RED if they lose, that they have a big bat YANKED out of their lineup,” Boras said. “I haven't MET a team that DODGES a five-tool player. To PHIL the center field need is a GIANT step towards the playoffs. North and South outfielders that fly with power, they're rare BIRDS. In the offseason, there's a lot of startup to organizations, and for that reason, there's a lot of ANGEL investors that are looking for very versatile outfielders. Other than that, Belly (Bellinger) doesn't have much interest.”

Shortly after arriving in Orlando early Sunday night, Yankees GM Cashman said he had been in touch with Boras multiple times this offseason regarding Bellinger and figured he would talk to the agent again during these meetings.

“Cody Bellinger would be a great fit for us,” Cashman said. “I think he'd be a great fit for anybody. I think he's a very talented player that can play multiple positions at a high level, and hits lefties, hits righties. He's a contact guy, and I think our environment was a great one for him.”

During November’s GM meetings, Boras disputed none of that, particularly the last part, saying the 30-year-old Bellinger had been “an ideal” fit, in every way, with the Yankees.

But, as Cashman said in November, and it has borne out that way, Bellinger this winter is “going to have a lot of choices because he can do a lot of different things.”

For the Yankees he was particularly valuable, not only because he helped provide protection for Aaron Judge in the lineup but because of a defensive versatility that allowed him to play four positions – all three outfield spots as well as first base – at an above-average level.

“Obviously, what Cody brought to us last year in so many ways…just who he was in the room, his performance between the lines on both sides of the ball, his athleticism, his versatility, who wouldn't want a player like that?” manager Aaron Boone said on Monday.

If the Yankees are outbid for Bellinger – certainly a possibility considering the number of big-market teams talking to him – the club could pivot to the other headline name on the free agent market, Kyle Tucker. The Yankees tried to trade for Tucker, 28, last winter but when the Astros sent him to the Cubs, they executed a trade with Chicago that netted them Bellinger.

The trade route to secure an outfielder is also very much in play. If the Yankees strike out on all of those fronts, then Jasson Dominguez would enter the spring as the front-runner to be the starter in left, a position the 22-year-old struggled adjusting to last season. Top outfield prospect Spencer Jones would also be part of that competition, though it would be one stacked in Dominguez’s favor.

Still, Bellinger remains the Yankees’ most desired – and best – option, with all it coming down to what kind of money the franchise is willing to offer.

There has been much talk this winter of owner Hal Steinbrenner wanting to bring down his payroll from the $319 million it was last year but, for his part, Boras said he hasn’t heard that from Cashman or team president Randy Levine.

“I don’t think when Cash or Randy call me, they talk about limiting payroll,” Boras said. “No, they don’t. They talk about acquiring players.”

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.