Bellinger was also 27-years-old versus Belt who is 35. Also, Bellinger at least could provide some value in CF with his glove, whereas Belt pretty much just offers a bat. So I could understand why there was a lot more competition for Bellinger amongst teams, especially since he was an NL MVP in 2019.
As much as I liked Bellinger as a FA on a one-year contract, he likely would have cost the Blue Jays $20M. Right now, it's looking like he'll be worth it, but at the same time it could have went the other way. Also, no Varsho long term and Kiermier if Bellinger is brought in.