Despite rumors to the contrary, the New York Yankees have not yet settled on Cody Bellinger’s position in center field after acquiring him from the Chicago Cubs.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke to reporters during Max Fried’s introductory press conference on Wednesday and called reports that Bellinger will be their starter under center “fake news.”

Center, left field and first base are all options for Bellinger.

USA today‘s Bob Nightengale reported after Tuesday’s trade that Bellinger was told he would play center field, moving Aaron Judge back to his normal spot in right field.

It seemed like a strange move to immediately put Bellinger under center. That’s an unsettled situation for the Yankees heading into 2025, but top prospect Jasson Domínguez is ready for a regular role now that he’s healthy after an injury-plagued 2024 that limited him to 76 games between the minors and majors.

The Yankees could also use Domínguez in left field and use Bellinger in center. Bellinger isn’t a great midfield defender at this stage of his career, but he’s also not so bad that he’d be embarrassing to have out there.

General manager Brian Cashman still needs to make at least one more move this offseason to fill out the roster. Bellinger’s versatility gives the team options, but it needs either another outfielder or a first baseman.

The Yankees have been linked to the top four remaining free agent first basemen – Christian Walker, Pete Alonso, Carlos Santana and Paul Goldschmidt. If they sign one of them, Bellinger will likely be a fixture in the outfield.

No matter what position Bellinger settles in, the key is that the Yankees have given their lineup a much-needed boost after losing Juan Soto. He alone won’t be able to repeat Soto’s performance last season, but pairing him with someone like Walker or Alonso will at least get them closer to where they are in 2024.

Bellinger hit .266/.325/.426 with 18 home runs in 130 games for the Cubs last season. His 18 home runs would have ranked fourth on the 2024 Yankees, behind only Aaron Judge (58), Soto (41) and Giancarlo Stanton (27).