Veteran first baseman Brandon Belt considered retirement after the 2022 season due to persistent knee problems, and he said in October after the Blue Jays were eliminated from the playoffs that he’d have to discuss with his family whether or not to keep playing. As Spring Training approaches, however, Belt told The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly that he is “definitely playing this year,” and that he could be close to signing a new contract.
2023 wasn’t a completely healthy season for Belt, as he missed about three weeks spread over two injured list stints due to back spasms and a sore hamstring. Belt also played almost exclusively against right-handed pitching, as the Jays used him mostly in a platoon capacity. Still, Belt’s 103 games played and 404 plate appearances were his highest totals since 2019, and he showed there’s plenty left in the tank by hitting .254/.369/.490 with 19 home runs. That translated to a 138 wRC+, ranking 15th among all players with at least 400 PA.
Even with his injury-marred 2022 season dragging down the numbers, Belt has a 140 wRC+ in 1262 PA since the start of the 2020 season. Though Belt turns 36 in April, it would seem like he is still a very good option for a team in need of some production from the designated hitter/part-time first base role, as long as Belt can remain healthy. Belt earned $9.3MM in his one-year deal with the Jays and should merit a raise, even if a multi-year contract is unlikely.
The Rangers are the only team publicly linked to Belt this offseason, and the World Series champs have a natural connection to Belt given the presence of his old Giants manager Bruce Bochy. A return to the Blue Jays might be less clear now that Toronto has signed Justin Turner, though since Turner is a right-handed hitter who can play third base, there might be some room for the Jays to carry both Belt and Turner even with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. locking down regular first base duty.
The Brewers (with Rhys Hoskins) and Twins (Carlos Santana) have both recently addressed their first base/DH needs, plus other available free agents like Jorge Soler, J.D. Martinez, Garrett Cooper, and Joey Votto are competing with Belt in the marketplace. There’s also the biggest name in Cody Bellinger, whose role as a first baseman or outfielder might vary depending on where he eventually lands.
One team that doesn’t appear to be in the running is San Francisco. Baggarly writes that the Giants “tossed around the idea of a Belt reunion,” but a right-handed hitter seems to be the club’s preference given the lefty-leaning tilt of the lineup. LaMonte Wade Jr. is one of those lefty-swingers and is already penciled into everyday first base duty, and another lefty bat in Michael Conforto figures to take up a big chunk of the DH at-bats.
Texas needs Montgomery.
The Halos, if only to hear another reworked version of the John Prine classic song, this time into “Angels for Montgomery”. 🙂
Belt had a much better year at the plate than I remember him having last year.
It doesn’t take much. One hot month at the plate can make an average season look great
So if you take out the times he was good he wasn’t good?
Belt was good every month except April. But having such a terrible start to his season meant his season numbers looked bad for a long time.
Data doesn’t check out on this comment. One hot month wouldn’t get you to a top-15 hitting season unless the other months were also above average.
The Crash Davis logic only impacts average, not the entire wRC+ metric
As a Giants fan I welcome the news that they WON’T re-sign him.
Hopefully giants sign Chapman and Bellinger.
Both could happen with the Giants or the Cubs. I can also envision the Giants signing one of Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery.
Giants need to avoid big contracts this year and go all in next season when they have Webb and Ray an entire season.
Bellinger and Chapman isn’t going to turn the Giants into contenders. Make some sly moves this year, trade some players, go all in on Soto and Alonso next season, then you might have a shot.
Chapman and Clevinger
Giants have had one mess of an offseason so far. Let’s not pretend they are too good for Brandon Belt.
Belt would hit cleanup on the Giants
If it was possible to trade Conforto and his whole salary for a bag of peanuts I’d welcome back the captain at $8M with open arms.
If he didn’t pan out I think Sabol is ready to take the next step towards being a power hitting left handed bat.
JE’s always done it with smoke and mirrors. I watched the Giants for many years and was never sold on Belt.
Please don’t be Texas.
Giants fan here –
Belt has stretches where he looks like he could a HOFer
Then he has those stretches where he is injured – very common , and more frustrating is watching that third called strike. Granted a lot of times it’s not a strike as the guy has a legit eye , but man it’s close and you have two strikes , and the team needs a hit ……. It’s frustrating
Pretty accurate take. He’s had stretches that last months where he’s Freddie Freeman but then he gets hurt and he takes so many pitches it’s nauseating. Still wonder how 2021 would have ended if he didn’t get hurt
Belt never really put it all together for the season Giants fans expected him to have during his prime. It was almost a meme, the “Belt Wars” and how under-appreciated he was in SF. He’s a flawed player, but his swing has always been sweet, and he was a solid defender in his SF years. The end is drawing nigh for his playing career, but I hope there’s enough in the tank for one or two more productive seasons before he hangs them up.
Scottn59c, I agree in general, but for a couple of things. He did put it together. 2013 and 2016 were a really good years for Belt. He had the highest OPS+ on the team both years, 5 better than Posey in ’13, and 17 points better than second best Hunter Pence in ’16.. He played 150 and 156 games those years. Had they done better in the playoffs people would probably remember that better.
And I never thought his swing was sweet. He apparently was coached to loosen his grip on the bat, which he never could do. I thought it made his swing a little stiff, and not as free and easy as it could have been.
Good description. Also for a big dude, he could run like hell back in the day. Not so much now. He’s from Texas; that could factor.
Belt is one of the guys I’d give a two year contract to if I thought the automated strike zone is coming in 2025, because it’ll really help him. It’s hard to hit when it’s a coin flip whether a close two strike pitch will be called correctly.
lol neither would be my first choice, but the Cubs should platoon him with Wisdom. I’d rather they replace him, but if they’re going to keep him, he needs a platoon partner.
Cubs? Then why would they trade a top prospect (Ferris), for Busch? WTH.
Busch is set to be the every day 1st baseman. Cubs still have a hole at 3rd with either defensively challenged Christopher Morel, or strikeout king (and also defensively challenged) Wisdom. Seems like a good stopgap till Matt Shaw is ready.
was thinking more as a DH platoon who could give Busch the occasional day off. and still hopeful the Cubs can sign Chapman for third
I like that idea, but only if we can overpay Chapman on a short term deal. Shaw is the long term answer, but he would be blocked with Chapman, Swanson, and Hoerner on the infield.
I think I’d be fine with a longer term deal as well. Shaw certainly has a lot of potential but they’ve barely played him at the hot corner in his first year and his arm strength seems to be his one real weakness.. Also as much as I love Nico, he’s only signed until the end of 2026, so he’s not blocking Shaw long-term quite yet. and you never know what the next couple years could bring so if like a 5-7 year deal is what it takes to fill 3B now I’d still be okay with that. Or even a 10 year deal if he wants as long as it lowers his aav and he can just finish his career with them.
The only Giants reunion that makes sense is giving MadBum a flyer. Why not? He would cost the league minimum, is a fan favorite here and would sell tickets, and who knows, could catch lightning in a bottle playing in that stadium. Giants could use another starting pitcher. He is the perfect fit.
Jack Hoffman — What are you smoking?
Not smoking anything. Its a total Giants type move. There is no way they’re giving Snell $200 million and getting stuck with 7 years on that contract. Adding MadBum is a zero risk move and would only be a one year deal. That’s how this front office does business. Plus, he could be a great asset as far as helping Harrison develop. Actually would be a genius pickup.
Giants had no interest in Bum when he was cut midseason by AZ last year. They could have picked him up then, but they had no desire to, nor did anyone else in MLB. Bum’s toast; he’s never been the same after falling off that dirtbike.
I wasn’t talking about last season. I was talking about for this season.
JH, It is absolutely not a Giants type move. When have the Giants under Zaidi brought back someone like Bumgarner? I know; never.
You’re confusing Zaidi’s tactic of signing candidates based on peripheral numbers, suggesting a possible bounce back, with signing any guy available.
AZ ate $23M to release him after he posted a 43 ERA+.
Bumgarner peaked 8 years ago, and has been in steady decline for 7 straight seasons. There is nothing to suggest Bumgarner is a bounce back candidate.
I know alot more about giants than you do gene
I should believe you, because you said so? It would be a lot more convincing if you made more knowledgeable posts.
Ooh you use big words like “peripherals” and such in depth stats like “a 43 ERA+”. You’re such a baseball wizard gene!
Wow, you think peripherals is a big word? What shorter word should I use instead? Apparently you don’t read many baseball articles since the term peripherals is fairly standard And if you think quoting such a common, and accessible stat as ERA+ is pretentious, then that says even more about your baseball knowledge.
Big words for you clown.
Thanks for the laugh. You’re funny.
Your welcome clown
Wow, two clowns in a row. Certainly you can come up with a newer, better insult than just repeating “clown”.
Nope just clown cuh your a clown
Funny.
Sorry, Bum’s done with SF and vice versa. And if SF cared about selling tickets, they’d be making forward moves this offseason instead of lateral ones.
You don’t know that lol. What, you’ve spoken to MadBum and the Giants front office personally?
Why would they waste a roster spot on a has been
It wouldn’t be a wasted roster spot if he has found his old form.
“2023 wasn’t a completely healthy season for Belt”
That statement and all accompanying stats dont really mean anything because the stadium wasn’t adjusted for Brandon’s style of play, stage of career, etc. They didn’t adjust the stadium for Brandon.
Think I would have preferred Belt over Santana for the twins 1st baseman platoon partner….
Ok but who’s getting JDM?
Giants?
Smh if the Padres don’t sign him.
He’s the perfect fit. Pads need a left-handed 1b/DH veteran.
I would rather have Hosmer than Belt.
Anyone that prefers Hosmer to Belt brings serious questions about that person’s baseball knowledge. The only advantage that Hosmer possesses is that he’s 2 years younger, and has 29 more SBs.
But, in the more important baseball things, hitting, fielding, and value, Belt is superior:
Belt career, 124 OPS+, 125 wRC+, 29.6 bWAR, 27.5 fWAR, 50 DRS, 15 OAA
Hosmer career, 107 OPS+,107 wRC+, -21 DRS, -37 OAA, 18.6 bWAR, 9.9 fWAR
If the Padres were to sign him I would almost certainly expect him to have a poor season. Plus he has historically hit not that great at Petco: .271/.331/.341 in close to 300 PA’s.
I think J.D. Martinez or Jorge Soler are much more likely to be productive hitters and to be healthier as well. Sure it would cost more, but if Belt is getting a raise on the 9+m he made last year, the AAV difference might not be all that big, just likely with multiple years for the others and you can almost guarantee an opt out would be involved.
The Pads need LH bags badly. I could definitely see him heading to SD.
One look at Billy Joel’s ears shows you he has heart disease
Indeed
Remarkable
He plans to play but how much will he really Plat? I wouldn’t spend more than 5 or 6 million for this benchwarmer, and even that’s a lot.
Two words “back spasms”. At 36 years old, GMs maybe wanna look elsewhere.
Good for him.
Sounds like Belt has had a few belts since he wasn’t signed yet.
I think 1 year/$10.7M would be very fair. Equivalent to 2 years/$20M, which is a good deal for his production, even with the IL stints.
Wishing Belt the best. I hope whatever team gets him has a fanbase who understands dry sarcasm!!!! He’s hilarious
I don’t understand the anger over this offseason. nor the sureness that some people have that they won’t be competitive in 2024. How many teams have had a better offseason than the Giants? Certainly the Dodgers, who’ve had a better offseason than any team. And I’d add the Yankees. The Orioles weren’t, but did on the basis of their one major deal, getting Burnes. But who else has done better? Az and the M’s maybe, but the Giants have had a better offseason than the vast majority of teams.
People forget that 3/4s of the way through 2023 the Giants were a playoff team. 10 games over ,500. It was an epic collapse over the last quarter of the season that killed their chances. What’s the basis for the belief that the final 41 games defines the team better than the first 121?
They lost nonproductive players like Stripling, Wood, DeSclafani, and Haniger. and added Lee, Hicks, Ray and Murphy. They may not make the PS, but they weren’t that far away last season. Thinking they might be competitive certainly isn’t delusional.
“People forget that 3/4s of the way through 2023 the Giants were a playoff team. 10 games over ,500. It was an epic collapse over the last quarter of the season that killed their chances. What’s the basis for the belief that the final 41 games defines the team better than the first 121?”
A better question would be what is the basis for the belief that a team’s first 121 games defines the team better than the entire 162 game season. This isn’t a 121 game league. The season is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to keep it up all year.
I’m not necessarily saying the Giants have no chance to be competitive, but cherrypicking the parts of the season that you like is not a good way to evaluate a team.