By Jordan Long
The Toronto Blue Jays are looking to go further than the Wild Card Series this season. They know they are going to have a potent offense with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and George Springer. They added another bat to their lineup, Brandon Belt.
Belt has 12 years of MLB experience playing only for the San Francisco Giants. In that time, he is a career .261 hitter. He isn’t a player who is going to hit with power with 175 home runs. He will drive the ball into the gap for extra base hits totaling 267 doubles and 36 triples. Belt also has 584 RBI’s. Last year with the San Francisco Giants Belt had the worst offensive numbers of his career. He hit .213 with 8 home runs and 23 RBI’s.
When it came to defense, Belt was the Giants’ first baseman. In 63 games last year, Belt totaled 6 errors, far too many. Once the season was over, the Giants decided to let him test free agency because his offensive numbers declined.
It took a while in free agency, but the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a 1-year, $9.5 million contract. The Blue Jays will not have him play first base. That job is taken by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is their everyday first baseman. Belt may play in the field when Guerrero Jr., needs a day off but most likely be their designated hitter. His job will be to smack the ball for base hits to drive in his teammates.
The Blue Jays know this is a fair deal. A 1-year deal is a make-it-or-break-it season for Belt. The best case is he plays well for the Blue Jays and contributes to a winning team. The worst case is his numbers aren’t improved and the Blue Jays either let him go once the year is up or trade him during the year.
The Blue Jays would like to be in contention to dethrone the New York Yankees for the American League East Division title. They have the team and adding Belt should make them more dangerous. Hopefully, this closes the gap for the Blue Jays.
Leave a Reply