Former New York Mets Free Agent Target Getting Shockingly Little Interest

The New York Mets were the only team to make this former All-Star a serious offer.

The New York Mets were the only team to make this former All-Star a serious offer. / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

With a few major exceptions like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, last winter was brutal for free agents. Many had to wait until late in the offseason to sign, including Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and J.D. Martinez.

Some players, like Brandon Belt, are still waiting. There's been virtually no market for the 35-year-old former All-Star, who only got one serious offer from the New York Mets despite proving he could still hit last year. Belt batted .254/.369/.490 with 19 homers, 43 RBIs and 61 walks for the Toronto Blue Jays, helping them make the playoffs.

But this offseason, he's heard nothing but crickets. According to Andrew Baggarly's article for The Athletic, the Mets were the only team to offer Belt a guaranteed contract this winter. However, it was mostly incentives-based and didn't include much guaranteed money.

The #Mets were reportedly the only team to offer Brandon Belt a guaranteed deal, and even then... https://t.co/Es4QlgTF5Z pic.twitter.com/xvfBZ85Pou

— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) April 8, 2024

Belt deserves better, especially given his ability to mash right-handed pitching. Belt ranked 11th among qualified hitters last season with a 146 wRC+ against RHP, which ranked only behind Ohtani in this winter's free-agent class.

Hitting has rarely been a problem for Belt, who's established an impressive track record over his 13-year career with nearly 200 home runs and an .817 OPS. He also helped the San Francisco Giants win two World Series during his 12 seasons with the team.

Belt has battled injuries throughout his career and doesn't hit lefties particularly well, but his bat alone should still make him an asset somewhere. Unfortunately for him, apparently other teams don't think so.