Yankees free agent duo is the statistical equivalent to what the NY Mets lost

This offseason has not been a fun one for the New York Mets. They've already lost half of their "Fab Four" by trading Brandon Nimmo and now letting franchise home run leader Pete Alonso walk in free agency to the Baltimore Orioles. One could argue they should have been the "Fantastic Five" if you included star closer Edwin Diaz, who is now a Los Angeles Dodger. Losing both Diaz and Alonso during the Winter Meetings stings, but there is still plenty of offseason left. It may not be ideal, but the Mets can still "recreate" Diaz and Alonso in the aggregate with two players that can combine for about 6.4 WAR. They both played with the NY Yankees last year, and should be players the Mets should poach.

Cody Bellinger

Now that Alonso is off the board, the Mets should turn their attention to Cody Bellinger. He would bring some of the power the Mets lost in Alonso back to the line-up, along with filling a spot on the outfield depth chart that was left open by trading Nimmo. Plus, he could still see some reps at first base with Alonso gone.

Bellinger batted .272/.334/.480 with a .347 wOBA, and 125 wRC+ over 656 plate appearances with the Yanks in 2025. The former MVP walked at a solid 8.7% rate; however, his 13.7% strikeout rate and 18.1% whiff rate are both career-bests. It is also the first time he has ever had a sub-15% K%, and sub-20% whiff% in one year. Bellinger also smacked 29 home runs, the most since his 2019 MVP campaign. 

Bellinger would significantly improve the Mets' outfield defense. In 2025, he had +12 defensive runs saved and +6 outs above average. He saw playing time across all three outfield positions, with his best glovework coming in left field. Bellinger only saw 29 innings at first base, but he has generally been a solid glove at the corner infield position throughout his career, with +10 DRS and only -1 OAA over 2508 innings.

Bellinger is doing most of the heavy lifting when you look at 2025 bWAR. He was very valuable, with +5.1 bWAR. Only 18 players accumulated as much bWAR as Bellinger during 2025. While Bellinger is projected to sign a similar contract as Alonso (around 5-6 years at $150-160 million, and Alonso signed for five years at $155 million), he brings value, not just with his bat, but with both defensive ability and defensive versatility.

Luke Weaver

The Mets may not have re-signed Edwin Diaz, but their pursuit for another reliever who can handle higher leverage shouldn't end because they missed out. One reliever they should turn their attention to now is Luke Weaver. Weaver had a strong breakout campaign in 2024 with the Yankees after making a full-time transition to the bullpen. While his encore didn't match the results of his '24 season, he still put up solid numbers.

Weaver tossed 64.2 innings while working to the tune of a 3.64 ERA, 3.89 FIP, and 1.02 WHIP. The right-hander got plenty of strikeouts, with a 27.5% K%, while limiting walks at an above-average, 7.6% rate. His 1.39 HR/9 ratio was a step back from the 1.07-per-9 rate he had in 2024, but his 8.3% barrel rate was in the 50th percentile of pitchers in 2025, indicating he could have had better luck at limiting home runs.

Weaver's barrel rate wasn't the only Statcast metric in which he was solid. He was in the 90th percentile or better in both xERA (2.98) and xBA (.195). His chase rate of 31.1% was also in the 91st percentile. He got whiffs at an impressive 31% rate, which was in the 89th percentile. Both his xwOBA (.269) and xwOBACON (.334) were not just sizable improvements from his 2024 marks of .283 and .369, respectively, but also ranked among some of the best relievers in baseball.

Weaver's bWAR clocked in at 0.8 this past season. He and Bellinger combined for 5.9 bWAR. That slight difference between 5.9 from Weaver+Bellinger to 6.4 bWAR from Diaz+Alonso is pretty much negligible. While Bellinger may sign a similar contract to Alonso's, Weaver will likely sign for a lot less than Diaz. MLB Trade Rumors only projects him signing a two-year contract worth $18 million.