NEW YORK -- It may be "absolutely nothing," but Major League Baseball will investigate tampering charges regarding free agent Barry Bonds and the New York Mets, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

Bonds, who hit a record-breaking 73 homers last season, told ESPN's Roy Firestone after the season that he would consider playing for the Mets next year. He was quoted as saying, "They gave me an open invitation during the season. When you get an open invitation from a ballclub during the season, then it does become an appealing club to go to."

MLB vice president Sandy Alderson says his office will investigate whether the Mets tampered with Bonds.

"We'll look into it," Alderson told Bloomberg News. "I don't want to make more of it than it may be. It may be absolutely nothing."

"It wasn't said through any official channels," Mets public relations director Jay Horwitz told the New York Post. "It could've been a million things. "It could've been tongue in cheek. We don't even know it was a player."

Horwitz told the Post that there was "zero" chance Mets general manager Steve Phillips or anyone in the front office had approached Bonds.

A team cannot approach a player while he is under contract with another team.

The 37-year-old Bonds is the most appealing free agent on the market this season after having one of the best individual years of all time for the San Franciso Giants. In addition to his 73 homers, Bonds batted .328, drove in 137 runs and drew an amazing 177 walks for a .515 on-base percentage.