Brandon Belt's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

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.