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For the second consecutive offseason, the\u00a0New York Mets\u00a0appear to be competing to pry an outfielder away from their crosstown rivals.<\/p>\n
According to\u00a0Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Mets are interested in free-agent outfielder Cody Bellinger, who spent the 2025 season with the Yankees. Heyman noted that the Mets have openings at center field and first base\u2014two positions Bellinger can play.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/t.co\/Cj9o233gEH\u00a0Can the Mets possibly sign a star Yankee OF for the second straight winter? They are interested<\/p>\n
Bellinger, 30, joined the Yankees in a salary-dump trade days after the Chicago Cubs acquired Kyle Tucker last December. It was one of multiple defining moves in the Yankees\u2019 pivot from Juan Soto, who signed a historic 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets after one season in the Bronx.<\/p>\n
Over 152 regular-season games in pinstripes, Bellinger hit .272\/.334\/.480 (.813 OPS) with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs. The left-handed slugger finished with 5.1 bWAR, the highest mark he has produced since his 2019 NL MVP campaign with the Los Angeles Dodgers (8.7).<\/p>\n
Bellinger not only excelled batting behind Aaron Judge but was also one of the best defenders in baseball. Playing all three outfield positions and first base, he accumulated eight defensive runs saved and was credited with +7 Outs Above Average by\u00a0Statcast.<\/p>\n
An UNBELIEVABLE Cody Bellinger catch secures the Yankees win!\u00a0pic.twitter.com\/XdzM96Amiw<\/p>\n
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has emphasized improving run prevention since the offseason began, citing it as one of the main reasons the team fell short of expectations in 2025. Adding a player with Bellinger\u2019s defensive abilities to the starting lineup could help address that issue, though his exact role would depend on other moves.<\/p>\n
When asked about the team\u2019s center field options Tuesday at MLB\u2019s GM meetings in Las Vegas,\u00a0Stearns said\u00a0Mets No. 2 prospect Carson Benge will have a chance to make the Opening Day roster out of spring training. The 2024 first-rounder posted an .857 OPS with 15 home runs and 73 RBIs across three levels this past season, though he hit .178\/.272\/.311 in 24 Triple-A games.<\/p>\n
If Benge starts in center, that would leave first base as a potential Pete Alonso replacement or either corner outfield spot as Bellinger\u2019s most realistic long-term fit in Queens. Both Soto and Brandon Nimmo are under contract through at least 2030, so the Mets would likely have to move one to a full-time DH role or trade Nimmo to accommodate Bellinger in the outfield.<\/p>\n
At no point during Bellinger\u2019s first nine big-league seasons has he been a full-time first baseman, though he has made 350 career appearances (274 starts) at the position. His career marks of 10 DRS and -1 OAA at first are not as strong as his outfield metrics, though they are noticeably better than Alonso\u2019s defensive numbers (-9 DRS, -9 OAA) in 2025.<\/p>\n
If there is one concern about Bellinger\u2019s potential fit in Queens, it is that the Mets already have an abundance of left-handed bats at the top of the lineup. That said, the two-time All-Star led all left-handed hitters in on-base percentage (.415) and slugging (.601) against lefty pitching in 2025.<\/p>\n
Like Alonso, Bellinger opted out of the final year of his contract ($25 million guaranteed) in search of a longer-term agreement this offseason. Both\u00a0Spotrac\u00a0and\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Kiley McDaniel project Bellinger to secure a six-year deal in free agency\u2014one that would exceed his previous financial guarantee in average annual value.<\/p>\n
Getty<\/p>\n
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Josh Williams.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the kind of news the\u00a0Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u00a0were expecting to deal with headed into the most important 2-game stretch of the season.<\/p>\n
The NFL announced it was suspending Buccaneers rookie running\u00a0Josh Williams\u00a0for using PEDS on Tuesday, November 11, which wouldn\u2019t make him eligible to return until a Week 17 road game against the\u00a0Miami Dolphins.<\/p>\n
\u201cBucs RB\u00a0Josh Williams\u00a0has been suspended six games without pay for violating the NFL\u2019s Performance-Enhancing Substances Policy, the league announced,\u201d\u00a0Tampa Bay Times reporter Rick Stroud\u00a0wrote on his official X account.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBucs rookie running back\u00a0Josh WIlliams\u00a0has been suspended for six games without pay for violating the NFL\u2019s Performance-Enhancing Substances Policy,\u201d\u00a0Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman\u00a0wrote on his official X account. \u201cHe has played in three games this season, with four carries for 11 yards.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Buccaneers are coming off a 28-23 home loss to the\u00a0New England Patriots\u00a0in Week 10 and face consecutive road games against a pair of Super Bowl contenders when they travel to face the\u00a0Buffalo Bills\u00a0in Week 11 and the\u00a0Los Angeles Rams\u00a0in Week 12.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuccaneers\u2019 RB\u00a0Josh Williams\u00a0is suspended six games without pay for violating the NFL\u2019s Performance-Enhancing Substances Policy,\u201d\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter\u00a0wrote on his official X account. \u201cWilliams will be eligible for reinstatement on Tuesday, December 22, following the Buccaneers\u2019 Week 16 game against the\u00a0Carolina Panthers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams, 5-foot-9 and 210 pounds, wasn\u2019t selected in the\u00a02025 NFL draft\u00a0out of LSU and made the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t much different than college, when Williams went from a walk-on at LSU to having 2,094 career yards of total offense and 18 touchdowns for the\u00a0Tigers.<\/p>\n
\u201cOriginally a walk-on at LSU, Williams spent five years with the program,\u201d\u00a0LSU Wire\u2019s Alexis Yoder\u00a0wrote after Williams made Tampa Bay\u2019s 53-man roster in August. \u201cHis most productive season came in 2022 when he took 97 carries for 532 yards and six touchdowns. Last year, he took 117 carries for 482 yards and six touchdowns.\u201d<\/p>\n
After 3 consecutive years of having the NFL\u2019s worst rushing attack, the Buccaneers bounced back with a vengeance in 2024 behind rookie\u00a0Bucky Irving, a fourth round pick (No. 125 overall) out of the University of Oregon.<\/p>\n
Irving not only supplanted longtime starter\u00a0Rachaad White\u00a0as the Buccaneers\u2019 main running back, he showed the potential to be one of the NFL\u2019s very best at his position with 1,514 yards from scrimmage and 8 total touchdowns \u2014 that included 1,122 rushing yards.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, Irving has missed the last 5 games with a shoulder injury and there hasn\u2019t been any news on when he might possibly return.<\/p>\n
Without irving\u2019s dynamic running and pass catching ability, Tampa Bay has sorely missed a key dimension to the offense.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith\u00a0Bucky Irving\u00a0injured,\u00a0Josh WIlliams\u00a0has been the Bucs\u2019 No. 3 running back, active on game days but playing primarily on special teams only,\u201d\u00a0Auman wrote on X on November 11. \u201cThat role will likely now go to one of the backs on Tampa Bay\u2019s practice squad, Owen Wright or Michael Wiley.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For the second consecutive offseason, the\u00a0New York Mets\u00a0appear to be competing to pry an outfielder away from their crosstown rivals. According to\u00a0Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Mets are interested…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t