The New York Mets have a glaring hole in left field, but they’ll fill it by poaching another outfielder from across town, according to David Schoenfeld of ESPN.
The MLB writer predicted the Mets to land Cody Bellinger on a six-year, $180 million contract in the upcoming days ahead.
Bellinger, of course, played with the New York Yankees in 2025, finishing 14th in AL MVP voting. He slashed .272/.334/.480 with 29 homers and 98 RBIs while helping the Yankees reach the postseason.
But the Mets are devoid of a left fielder after they traded Brandon Nimmo to the Texas Rangers for second baseman Marcus Semien. They also, of course, lost first baseman Pete Alonso, who signed a five-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles.
The Mets Want Cody Bellinger Especially For His Defense
Bellinger’s sweet left-handed swing made him a natural fit for the right-field short porch at Yankee Stadium. But an underrated element of Bellinger’s game is his defense, which Schoenfeld noted is an emphasis of Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns.
“Stearns is clearly emphasizing defense — bringing in Marcus Semien to play second base and ditching Alonso,” Schoenfeld wrote. “Bellinger fits in that regard, especially in left field, where he would be a plus defender, and he can handle center as well.”
The Mets, of course, have competition for Bellinger’s services. The Yankees have publicly called re-signing Bellinger their top priority, and Bellinger won the National League MVP award in 2019 as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Still, with only two outfielders under contract who took at least 50 major-league at-bats in 2025, the Mets will want to add a solid hitter and defender who can complement Juan Soto at the top of New York’s lineup — while passing on fellow free agent Kyle Tucker and letting Alonso walk.
“The Dodgers could be in the mix here as well, but that outfield hole for the Mets is glaring,” Schoenfeld wrote. “Bellinger is the best fit for them at the top of the market.
“Would the Mets give Bellinger a bigger contract than the one Alonso received from the Orioles? Bellinger is only a year younger, but over the past three seasons he has averaged 4.0 WAR while Alonso averaged 3.1.”
The Mets Still Need Pitching
The Mets lineup could be set if they lock in an outfielder like Bellinger.
Even though they have had talks with Starling Marte to bring back the righty power hitter, their moves to acquire Semien and sign unheralded switch-hitting infielder Jorge Polanco have balanced their lineup and added a less all-or-nothing element than Alonso brought.
So Mets fans should be excited about the team’s offense, especially if they can add an outfielder like Bellinger.
But New York, understandably, may be less enthused about its pitching staff, even despite the likelihood of Jonah Tong and Nolan McLean entering the starting staff in spring training.
Only three teams had fewer innings thrown from starting pitchers than the Mets in 2025. A top three of McLean, Tong and David Peterson may seem good, and Kodai Senga makes a serviceable No. 3/4, but the Mets should also be considering a front-of-the-rotation starter to properly slot everyone else.
Though McLean pitched like an ace in 2025, Tong had a 7.71 ERA and minus-0.8 bWAR. Plus, Mets fans should know better than to put a ton of stress and expectations onto starters in their early 20s, since doing so has yielded bad results historically — see Generation K.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Insider Predicts Mets To Land Marquee Free Agent Outfielder appeared first on Heavy Sports.