Here we go again. Another winter, another report that the San Francisco Giants have “checked in on” a big-name player — and another moment where Los Angeles Dodgers fans are supposed to pretend this might actually lead somewhere.

This time, it’s Cody Bellinger.

Because nothing says serious contender like a team that has limited its involvement with marquee free agents suddenly flirting with a former MVP who’s represented by Scott Boras and projected to command upwards of $180 million. That’s not a rumor — that’s comedy.

Let’s call this what it is: San Francisco kicking the tires, taking a screenshot, and then slowly backing away from the price tag.

This is the same organization that spent years selling “financial flexibility” like it was a feature, not a warning label. The same front office that watched the Dodgers hand out extensions like candy while they shopped exclusively in the mid-tier aisle and hoped vibes and upside would close the gap.

Bellinger isn’t a one-year pillow contract. He isn’t a reclamation project. He isn’t a “prove it” flyer. He’s exactly the kind of long-term, high-dollar commitment the Giants talk about and then mysteriously decide isn’t “the right fit.”

Dodgers have to be calling Giants’ bluff with interest in Cody Bellinger

Bellinger just mashed at Yankee Stadium — one of the friendliest left-handed power parks in baseball. Now you want him to sign up for Oracle Park, where right field eats fly balls for breakfast and confidence for dinner?

That’s already a tough sell. Now add Boras walking into the room asking for six years guaranteed, and suddenly this whole thing starts to smell like classic Giants theater: “We were interested, but the market just didn’t align.”

Translation: The Giants blinked. Again.

Dodgers fans have watched Bellinger at his peak. We’ve watched him rebound. We’ve watched him turn into a versatile, strikeout-resistant, Gold Glove-caliber defender who still runs into 30 homers. We also know exactly what Boras clients cost — and which teams actually pay it.

Spoiler alert: it’s usually the teams who don’t need to leak that they’re “checking in.”

So from a Dodgers fan perspective? The Giants flirting with Bellinger isn’t a threat — it’s an offseason ritual. A reminder that while the Dodgers operate at the top of the market, San Francisco still prefers the illusion of ambition over the cost of actually acting on it.

They’ll “check in.” They’ll talk it up. They’ll tell fans they tried. And when the bill comes due? They’ll fold — just like always.