Brandon Belt Stats
- Height / Weight
- 6' 3" / 230 lbs.
- Date of Birth (Age)
- 4/20/1988 (35)
- Experience
- 12
- College
- Texas
Brandon Belt Season Stats
Last 10 Games
Brandon Belt News
The San Francisco Giants officials tossed the idea around of re-signing first baseman/designated hitter Brandon Belt, but signing the lefty-hitting DH would mean shifting lefty hitting Michael Conforto to the outfield and potentially sending Luis Matos back to Triple-A, reducing the team's overall range and athleticism. Belt hit 19 home runs in 339 at-bats in 2023 with the Toronto Blue Jays, and his 136 OPS+ would have matched Wilmer Flores for the highest on the Giants last season. The 35-year-old plans to continue playing in 2024 and is believed to be close to signing with a new team, but it won't be the Giants, and he's also unlikely to return to Toronto after they recently signed veteran Justin Turner, who at this point in his career will most likely be a full-time DH. The best-case landing spot for Belt is probably the World Series-champion Texas Rangers.
The Texas Rangers have had internal discussions about signing free-agent first baseman/designated hitter Brandon Belt, who played for manager Bruce Bochy in San Francisco. On paper, Belt is a perfect fit for the Rangers, as he'd effectively replace Mitch Garver in their lineup. However, the question all offseason has been how much cash general manager Chris Young has available. Texas just signed reliever David Robertson and are the favorites to re-sign lefty Jordan Montgomery, but it remains to be seen if there would be any money left after that for a hitter like Belt. The 35-year-old lefty slugger was one of just six players in baseball to generate a barrel percentage of at least 15% and a chase rate below 23%, which led to a nice .369 on-base percentage and a great .890 OPS against right-handed pitching.
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman/designated hitter Brandon Belt, now a free agent following the Blue Jays' elimination from the postseason on Wednesday, is undecided on whether he will continue his playing career in 2024. Belt said he will talk with his family before making any final decisions on his future. The veteran signed a one-year deal with the Blue Jays for the 2023 season and hit .254 with 19 home runs and an .859 OPS across 103 games played. He caught fire after a slow start, hitting .264 with a massive .319 isolated power and .958 OPS after the All-Star break, production that graded out 61% above the league average, as per his 161 second-half wRC+. His performance this season will surely garner interest on the open market should he decide to return for the 2024 campaign.
Brandon Belt Stats
Last 10 Games
San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt put on a show in the shortened 2020 season, notching a triple-slash of .309/.425/.591 while clubbing nine home runs and knocking in 30 runs in 51 games. While many will look at the chaotic nature of the 2020 season and think this is a small sample size fluke, I think that would be casting aside some significant changes.After spending four years in a row with a launch angle close to 22-degrees, Belt dropped the launch angle to 18-degrees last year. His FB% dropped 6.1%, his infield fly ball rate fell from 7.8% to 0% (yes, zero), and his line-drive rate went up by four percent. Yes, his HR/FB jump from 8.8% to 19.1% is likely unsustainable, but it also shows that the swing change caused Belt to be able to square the ball up more consistently and drive it more effectively. In fact, his 16.8% barrel rate was good for the 10th-best in all of baseball last year. The fact is that Belt is only 32-years-old, he clearly benefited from swing changes, and the Giants made adjustments to their park dimensions allowing Oracle Park to become more hitter-friendly, playing as the 12th best park for HR power. All of this gives Belt more value than the market seems to think considering he's being drafted at an insulting ADP of 322.