Report: Blue Jays, Giants interested in Bellinger

The Toronto Blue Jays contacted Cody Bellinger's camp after he was non-tendered by the Los Angeles Dodgers, a source told Jon Morosi of MLB Network.

The Blue Jays had prior trade talks with the Dodgers about Bellinger, according to Morosi.

The San Francisco Giants have also approached the 2019 NL MVP, a source told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Giants are reportedly interested in Brandon Nimmo as well. The team could use some star power in an outfield that currently consists of LaMonte Wade Jr., Luis Gonzalez, Mike Yastrzemski, and Joc Pederson.

Bellinger's agent, Scott Boras, said the player has already turned down multi-year deals, instead focusing on a one-year contract because of his age, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The 27-year-old is an above-average outfielder with a left-handed bat. However, he's struggled significantly at the plate over the last two seasons after being one of the most potent hitters in baseball from 2017-19. Bellinger has slashed .193/.256/.355 with 29 homers over 239 games since the start of the 2021 campaign after registering 111 round-trippers with a .927 OPS across his first three years in the majors.

The Blue Jays are looking for an outfielder after trading Teoscar Hernandez to the Seattle Mariners. George Springer has said he's willing to move out of center field to help the team.

Toronto could also add a left-handed bat to a lineup that was extremely righty-heavy in 2022.