Mets want a short-term deal for Cody Bellinger

Also - while the Mets now need to find starting pitching, they're clearly defining their new lineup-building strategy

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• The Mets remain interested in OF Cody Bellinger, but would prefer to sign him to a short-term deal (Athletic)

• Signing another free agent who declined a qualifying offer is a deterrent, but won’t stop the Mets from ultimately signing such a player (Athletic)

• The Mets remain interested in adding a quality arm to their rotation, and are interested in a trade for RHP Freddy Peralta, and while LHP’s Kris Bubic or MacKenzie Gore are possibilities, they are long shots (Athletic)

---

Rumor Mill 💨

• The Dodgers are in, “intense” negotiations to acquire RHP Freddy Peralta (z101Digital)

• The Yankees won’t get into a bidding war for OF Cody Bellinger - they’ve offered him a five-year, $160 million offer with two opt-outs - the Yankees are holding firm on that offer (Star Ledger | Athletic)

• The Blue Jays held a meeting with LHP Framber Valdez in November (Sportsnet)

• The Diamondbacks will not revisit trade talks for INF Ketel Marte (MLB.com)

• The Dodgers are likely to hold onto OF Teoscar Hernández even after signing OF Kyle Tucker last week (ESPN)

• The Cardinals might be able to add a right-handed outfielder (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

• The Red Sox are looking to upgrade their catching (MassLive)

---

In a bonus edition of the Just Mets Podcast (Patreon only), Rich and Andrew discussed what their Hall of Fame ballots would look like if they had a vote. Watch the preview above and subscribe to our Patreon for the full episode!

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

---

---

Time to find some pitching, and clarity on the brand of offense the Mets are building ✍️

We are approaching the three-week marker for Mets pitchers and catchers officially reporting to Port St. Lucie. The official date for that is Wednesday, February 11. There will be baseball activity under the palm trees presumably sooner than that, if it hasn’t started already.

Interestingly enough, their minor league complex is abuzz with activity literally all year round, for any number of reasons. That goes for all clubs too. We just don’t see what goes on there until early February in most years.

Anyway, the Mets had a bad week turned good last week when they lost out to the Dodgers on OF Kyle Tucker, but quickly moved to sign INF Bo Bichette on Friday morning.

It was a great, savvy steal by the Mets, albeit at a hefty price, and it could very well be a one-year deal with Bichette. But they made themselves better by arguably making the Phillies worse after they reportedly had a seven-year, $200 million deal arranged with Bichette on Thursday night.

There’s still a lot of work to do with this roster, of course. Most notably with the rotation. It remains untouched and it needs a lot of help at the top as it is littered with questions and uncertainty up and down the depth chart. The Mets and the Yankees have been linked to RHP Freddy Peralta for much of the last month, but there are the Dodgers, again, lurking around the corner for what is arguably the best starting pitcher available on the trade market.

They could look into free agency, but as I said on Saturday, I just find it difficult to see the Mets signing someone like LHP Framber Valdez now because of the draft compensation he’s associated with due to the qualifying offer he rejected from the Astros. That would be four top draft choices (not their first one, though) they’d have to relinquish for Valdez and Bichette, and I just don’t know if this front office would be willing to do that, even if they’re getting a compensation pick for the loss of Edwin Díaz to the Dodgers. I know The Athletic reported on Sunday it wouldn’t necessarily stop them from making such a deal, but it just goes against the grain for them and their organization building philosophy. But, it’s worth mentioning Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns was in the Astros front office when that club signed Valdez in 2015, a few months before he joined the Brewers as their general manager. So, there’s some familiarity there, even if it goes back more than a decade at this point.

Also - if Valdez can’t get a five-year deal at this point considering what other top starters have received, something is wrong. And the Mets haven’t shown any evidence they’re interested in that kind of contract for a 32-year-old pitcher regardless of the consequences in the draft.

Imagn Images

Peralta, to me, is the best fit right now, not just because he meets the criteria for what the Mets need, but because he’s quite likely to be signable before he hits free agency. He did go to the Brewers front office about signing an extension, and they turned that idea down. The Dodgers recently did this when they traded for RHP Tyler Glasnow a few years ago and then immediately signed him to a five-year deal. I’d assume they would try and do that with Peralta if they were to acquire him, and I’d expect he’d be very attracted to that scenario. He’s probably looking for a deal of at least six years, which would be outside of the Mets’ typical comfort zone for starting pitching (he turns 30 in June, by the way), but Stearns knows Peralta from his days in Milwaukee, so there could be some hope there if the Mets were to acquire him.

Then there’s Sandy Alcantara, who has two years of club control left at around $38 million total, a modest price tag given the market price for quality starting pitching, but something Miami might be willing to strip themselves of under the right circumstances. They’ve already dealt Edward Cabrera, and they got a lot back for what could very likely be a lesser pitcher than Alcantara.

There’s the Twins and RHP Joe Ryan, who seemed destined to be dealt last summer but wasn’t, and hasn’t yet been dealt this winter either. In an ideal world, Ryan is a no. 2 arm for a rotation, although perhaps not an ace like Alcantara has been and Peralta currently is. But he’d be a good fit for what the Mets are trying to do and a big add given their current construction of the rotation. But it just doesn’t seem like he’s available.

Then of course there’s Tarik Skubal, who is still in Detroit but will head to arbitration after they couldn’t agree before last week’s deadline, and then filed for a $32 million salary against Detroit’s $19 million. Skubal is represented by Scott Boras, and while Skubal may deserve that kind of money, this is unquestionably a hardball play by the super agent. Would this motivate the Tigers to finally shop Skubal, especially since it’s always possible they could lose this negotiation in arbitration? Those proceedings are never pretty, which is why clubs and players endeavor to avoid arbitration hearings.

AP Photo

And, if he becomes available, would the Mets risk sending an absurd prospect haul to Detroit to rent Skubal for a year? Remember - this is Scott Boras, and these are the Mets, a club that has yet to prove they’d even consider a long-term deal for a pitcher outside of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was younger than Skubal when he was a free agent.

But honestly, considering how the Dodgers conduct themselves in the marketplace, the Mets’ best shot of ever getting Skubal and signing him could be to do that right now, even if the chance of signing him is remote.

Then of course there’s left field and the wedding that won’t seem to take place between the Yankees and OF Cody Bellinger. He wants seven years, the Yankees want five, and they remain at an impasse. The Dodgers wouldn’t seem to be in play for Bellinger, but I bet the Blue Jays might be interested and now that they also lost out on Tucker. There are also the Phillies, who don’t usually care about signing 30+ players to medium-term contracts, and need a bat after losing out on Bichette.

Could the Mets snag Bellinger for three years, and say $115 - $125 million and blow the doors off the competition from an AAV perspective while paying another short term tax to get a player? Would that be an attractive alternative for Scott Boras? Or, is the position he’s holding based on his last contract being so short, and just wanting that security?

It’s hard to see where the Mets could otherwise turn to in free agency to get the kind of versatility they’ve been seeking if they can’t sign Bellinger, not to mention the kind of ceiling he would add to this roster.

Harrison Bader is a nice player and a great clubhouse guy, but he is coming off a career year and has otherwise profiled as a less is more guy throughout his career. That’s not to say he hasn’t turned a corner in his career - maybe he is the next Justin Turner. Who knows. But, I don’t think the Mets roster in particular is in a position to take that kind of chance on Bader.

Back to the Bichette signing and something I didn’t discuss on Friday or Saturday but is important as we start to see the new vision for this Mets offense.

There’s no question there’s a power gap between Bichette and Pete Alonso. There’s a power gap between almost everyone and Alonso - he is one of the most prolific offensive players in the game and has been since his debut in 2019. That will never be replaced, and why it is such a rare commodity to have.

But, the Mets have not only worked to change the voices in the room, they’re looking to change the identity of their lineup and clearly trying to avoid the massive team-wide offensive slumps they’ve encountered with the changes they’ve made.

In 2025, Bichette had a 14.5% strikeout rate and Marcus Semien had a 17.4% strikeout rate. Jorge Polanco also had just a 15.6% strikeout rate, but that could be considered an anomaly based on his career norms. Compare that to Alonso’s 22.8% strikeout rate and Brandon Nimmo’s 21.6% strikeout rate.

Now, nobody is saying here Semien’s bat isn’t in decline, but even through that decline he only struck out 93 times in 534 plate appearances, compared to Nimmo’s 141 in only 118 more plate appearances.

The point is, while the lineup may lack the thump it once had with Alonso, they’ve added contactability, which means more balls in play, which means higher probabilities of positive outcomes with runners on base.

If they were to add Bellinger, who had a 13.7% strikeout rate in 2025, they’d be trending well towards a contact-first branded lineup. And these days, those are the kinds of offenses that are successful in October.

Of course, the Mets still have a long way to go before we can even think about fall ball.

---

Around the League 🚩

• RHP Ryan Pressly has announced his retirement (Athletic)

• The Nationals agreed to RHP Trevor Gott to a minor league contract (Athletic)

• RHP Jakob Junis and the Rangers are in agreement on a one-year, $4 million deal (Athletic)

• INF Ha-Seong Kim - who signed a one-year, $20 million contract with the Braves - recently suffered a hand injury which required surgery. He will miss 4-5 months (MLB.com)