NEW YORK — Cody Bellinger made his interest in the Yankees known.

About a week before the Yankees traded for the 2019 National League MVP, general manager Brian Cashman heard how badly Bellinger wanted to be a Bronx Bomber.

“I’ve been hearing it for a long time, including his agent, Scott Boras, saying, ‘Can you get him over here? He’s driving me crazy. He wants to be a Yankee,’” Cashman said Wednesday.

That desire, Bellinger explained Thursday, stemmed from a simple reality.

“The baseball career is short,” Bellinger said during an introductory Zoom call. “I have an opportunity to play for one of the best franchises in all of sports. I knew there was interest, and I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. I’m just glad it was all able to work out.”

The Yankees sent spot starter Cody Poteet to the Chicago Cubs to acquire Bellinger, giving them a middle-of-the-order hitter and a premium defender at first base or in the outfield.

Whether Bellinger’s primary position ends up being first base, center field or left field depends on who else the Yankees acquire this winter, but the 29-year-old made it clear to manager Aaron Boone during a post-trade phone call that he’s ready to play anywhere.

“I think that it helps the teams that I’m on win. I enjoy doing that,” Bellinger said.

“I learned a lot from [former Los Angeles Dodgers teammate] Kiké Hernández. He’s probably one of the best players that I’ve seen at being able to roam around the field and just be above average or excellent at all the positions he plays. I got to see that it’s possible and I knew that I had the ability to do it.”

That versatility was appealing to the Yankees, considering last year’s starting first baseman, Anthony Rizzo, and left fielder, Alex Verdugo, are both free agents. Aaron Judge is expected to slide back to right field following the free-agent departure of Juan Soto, leaving a void in center field as well.

Also appealing was Bellinger’s left-handed bat. Bellinger pulled 15 of his 18 home runs last season, despite playing his home games at Wrigley Field, where it’s 353 feet down the right-field line.

Right field at Yankee Stadium is only 314 feet down the line. The Yankees are also set to play six games at George M. Steinbrenner Field — the Tampa Bay Rays’ temporary home in the wake of Hurricane Milton — which features the same dimensions.

“I really believe he’s gonna play up offensively in our yard, and I think we’re getting a great person to add to the room,” Boone said of Bellinger. “I’m excited. I know he’s really excited. I think he’s gonna be an important piece to the puzzle.”

Bellinger burst onto the scene with the Dodgers in 2017, hitting 39 home runs in his debut season en route to National League Rookie of the Year honors. He struck a career-high 47 home runs during his MVP campaign two years later.

But Bellinger underwent right shoulder surgery after the 2020 season, and his numbers dropped significantly. He hit .193 and totaled 29 home runs over the next two seasons, prompting the Dodgers to non-tender him.

Bellinger signed a one-year prove-it contract with the Cubs in 2023, and he responded with a resurgent season, hitting .307 with 26 home runs and 97 RBIs in 130 games.

Last offseason, Bellinger re-signed with the Cubs with a three-year, $80 million contract featuring opt-outs after every year. He hit .266 with 18 homers and 78 RBIs in 130 games in 2024, then opted into the second year of his contract.

Seeking salary relief, the Cubs shipped Bellinger to the Yankees shortly after swinging a blockbuster trade to acquire outfielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros. They agreed to send $5 million to the Yankees to help cover Bellinger’s $27.5 million salary this year and either his $25 million salary or $5 million buyout next season.

“I get business,” Bellinger said. “I’m very good at separating the business and the baseball. I’m the baseball player and there’s business people in this game, so I just want to prepare and play the best baseball I can.”

Joining the Yankees is a full-circle experience for Bellinger, whose father played for the team from 1999-2001 and won two World Series in pinstripes.

“He plays it all cool, but I know deep down he’s really excited [about the trade]. We lived out in upstate [New York] growing up, and I grew up with the Pettittes,” Bellinger said.

“I have some very solid memories of it. My parents did a good job of bringing the camcorder around, and back when I was younger, in high school or even before that, we would watch some home videos.”

The Yankees hope Bellinger can be part of the solution for replacing Soto, who signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets after his powerful bat helped take the Bombers to the 2024 World Series.

The Yankees have also signed left-handed ace Max Fried and traded for shutdown closer Devin Williams since Soto’s exit.

“Team building is about gravitating to the best players in the baseball universe,” Cashman said. “In Juan Soto’s case, it was a generational talent who came off the board and went a different direction, so we adjust, and we can continue to adjust all the time. It’s the ebbs and flows of a baseball winter.”

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