Veteran slugger s free agency has surprisingly dragged into the regular season, with the soon to be 36-year-old reportedly by the lack of offers hes received to this point. provided additional details on Belts free agency recently, noting that the Mets were the only club to offer Belt a guaranteed contract this winter, though he added that the deal was almost entirely incentives-based. Belt is coming off an excellent season with the Blue Jays that saw him slash .254/.369/.490 with 404 trips to the plate. That included a fantastic 146 wRC+ against right-handed pitching, the eleventh-best figure among all qualified hitters last year which trailed only among this winters free agents. The performance was more or le s par for the course for Belt, whos hit .258/.369/.503 since the start of the 2020 season and is a career .261/.357/.460 hitter for his career. That type of production certainly wouldve made sense for the Mets, though the club ultimately landed slugger on a one-year deal to plug the hole in the lineup at DH. With that said, its somewhat surprising that the Mets were the only club to offer Belt a big league deal this winter. The only player John Wall Jersey on still unsigned, Belt was predicted for a one-year, $15MM deal this winter. That wouldve been a small bump over the one-year, $9.3MM deal he landed with Toronto prior to 2023 on the heels of a below-average showing at the plate during his final season with the Giants. Belt recently indicated that he still hopes to play in 2024, but also noted that he doesnt want to settle for a minor league contract after his strong season last year. More from the New York teams Sticking with the Mets , Martinez was expected to make his debut with the club during this weeks series against the Braves, but that plan appears to have been scuttled. As relayed by , manager told reporters that Martinez is dealing with general body sorene s and is not yet ready for his big league debut. Now, DiComo reports that the plan is for Martinez to take the next two days off and return to minor league action on Tuesday, with Friday as the earliest Martinez could make his big league Mets debut. The 36-year-old slugger slashed an impre sive .271/.321/.572 with 33 home runs in 113 games with the Dodgers last year and figures to provide a major boost to the big league lineup, which ranks 28th in the majors with a 64 wRC+ so far in the young 2024 campaign. Looking toward the Bronx, Yankees fans received positive news regarding ace right-hander this morning, as manager told reporters (including ) that Cole is nearing the beginnings of a throwing program. Cole started the season on the injured list while nerve inflammation on his elbow, and now is expected to begin playing catch as soon as tomorrow. Cole, 33, is the reigning AL Cy Young award winner and a six-time All Star who pitched to a sterling 2.63 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate in 209 innings of work. If the right-hander can make a relatively speedy return from his rehab, it would surely provide a major boost to the Yankees as they look to return to the postseason. C.J. Miles Jersey