"Cody Bellinger will be a Mets” - Sports radio personality calls ex-Yankees star a “perfect fit” for $3.2B NL franchise

The New York Mets have been linked with All-Star caliber bats all offseason after failing to qualify for the playoffs last season.

The Mets were reportedly in pursuit of Kyle Schwarber, who reunited with the Philadelphia Phillies in free agency. Steve Cohen's team then failed to re-sign All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso, who opted out of his Mets contract at the end of last season and signed joined the Baltimore Orioles in free agency.

With Schwarber and Alonso off the market, former New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger remains a viable option for the NL East franchise. WFAN host Tommy Lugauer hailed Bellinger as "perfect" for the Mets, valued at $3.2 billion by Forbes.

"Bellinger is the perfect David Stearns free agent acquisition," Lugauer said. "So, I believe Bellinger will be a Met, and I think that David Stearns will go beyond the years that he has given other players. "I think the Mets overall, Stearns co-signed by Cohen, will go the extra years when it's a player that they want, and it's a player that they value and it's a player that they feel like fits what they are trying to build with this team."

Bellinger hit .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs, with a 125 OPS+, the second-best return of his career since his NL MVP-winning campaign in 2019.

Dodgers set to rival Mets, Yankees for Cody Bellinger's signature

While the Mets have been linked with Cody Bellinger over the last few weeks, their crosstown rivals, the Yankees, have been in pursuit of a reunion with the outfielder since the offseason began.

Apart from the Mets and Yankees, Bellinger's former team, the Los Angeles Dodgers has emerged as a potential destination for the former NL MVP, according to The Athletic’s Jim Bowden.

“The market for Cody Bellinger is robust with the most likely result that he signs with a big market, contending team as expected with the Yankees Mets and Dodgers the most likely landing spots for him at this point in that order,” Bowden wrote on X.

It'll be interesting to see which team wins the race for Bellinger as the All-Star outfielder is reportedly seeking a lucrative deal that would potentially set him for his MLB career.

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash