January 10, 2023

By Evan Christie

Canadian Baseball Network

Former San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt has signed with the Toronto Blue Jays on a one-year deal.

After two fantastic, albeit injury-shortened, seasons in 2020 and 2021, Belt struggled in just half a season in 2022. Still, most expected the 34-year-old to be a Giants lifer. But even with his injured knee fully healed after surgery, it seemed Farhan Zaidi and the Giants front office decided to move on.

The key thing that Belt brings to the table is veteran leadership. Going into his age-35 season, the man known as “The Captain” will be the oldest player on the Blue Jays roster, and one of only two with a World Series ring.

In a more tangible sense, he brings power potential. Even with a bad knee and a lowly batting average of just .213, Belt’s offensive production was still worth 92 OPS+, and 96 wRC+, meaning that depending on who you get your analytics from, he was either only 8% or 4% below the league average.

The one thing the Blue Jays truly lacked in 2022 was a stable first baseman. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) has been a work-in-progress defensively and putting someone like Whit Merrifield or Cavan Biggio there is a waste of the defense both can bring in the middle infield or the corner outfield.

While Belt won’t be a gold glover or anything, a freshly rebuilt knee could bring back the days of the Baby Giraffe.

And despite his age, most projections see him improving for the 2023 season. Both Fangraphs and Baseball Reference’s models project improvement on the offensive side of the ball, with 30 xBH and an OPS somewhere between .732 (Fangraphs) and .798 (Baseball Reference).

All in all, this is a solid addition. It will be odd seeing Belt not in cream, black and orange, but the Jays are all the better for it. Brandon Belt brings leadership, a plus bat, and a defensive upgrade at first base. What’s not to like?