Blue Jays Continue Strong Offseason, Sign Belt to One-Year Deal

The Toronto Blue Jays have made yet another splash during what has become quite a busy offseason for the management team.

Retooling the pitching and fielding became a focal point, as deals for Erik Swanson, Kevin Kiermaier, Daulton Varsho and Chris Bassitt have been put into place either via trade or free agent signing.

Paired with an already strong lineup consisting of position players Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Matt Chapman, Alejandro Kirk and George Springer, and a starting rotation that features Alek Manoah, Jose Berrios and Kevin Gausman, the upgrades certainly have fans and management alike envisioning a better result than that of the past two seasons.

This week, Toronto took another step forward in signing veteran first-baseman and designated hitter Brandon Belt to a one-year, $9.3 million contract for the 2023 season.

And the 34-year-old couldn’t be more excited to get going with the Blue Jays.

“We felt like this was the best situation and best baseball decision for us,” Belt said when meeting with the local media via Zoom on Wednesday afternoon.

“When I thought about the teams I had to choose from, I just got really excited about the thought of going to play for Toronto,” he added. “It’s a great roster, a great, young group of guys, and they were a good baseball team last year that got better this offseason. That’s what gets me excited about playing baseball next year.”

Having spent the entirety of his 12-year MLB career with San Francisco, the idea of playing in Canada, representing an entire country and doing so with a group of strong, young players was too much for Belt to turn down.

“Coming to a division with smaller ballparks, it’s interesting,” he said of Rogers Centre and neighbouring venues. “To be honest with you, that’s part of the reason why I felt good about coming to the AL East.”

A career .261 hitter, Belt has made his money as a strong-hitting, left-handed power-hitter. He has primarily played first base for the Giants, a role that Guerrero Jr. won’t be stepping away from any time soon. But Belt’s experience as a DH will also come into the equation on nights Alejandro Kirk is catching for Danny Jansen. Belt will likely also draw roughly 25-35 starts at first base if Guerrero continues to be used the same way he has been over the past couple seasons.

“I’m so optimistic about this year,” the newest Blue Jay said. “I feel great. There should be no excuses for me; I’ll say it right now. I feel like I’m going to be who I was in 2020 and ’21. If it doesn’t end up like that, it’s not because of something physical.”

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A difficult 2022 season paved the way for his release from the Giants, as Belt continued to deal with problems in his right knee. Three knee surgeries since 2015 – including arthroscopic surgery in September – led to an early finish in the orange and white. Unable to move as well as he knew he could, Belt’s leg is working like it always knew it could, with the latest surgery serving as a “game-changer”.

In a lineup that was far too right-hand dominant, the additions of Kiermaier, Varsho and Belt addressed that need, while the bulked up bullpen and rotation will be a welcome sight to fans begging for help on the mound.

And his addition will actually be a first-time thing for Belt as well, as he has never before switched teams throughout his career. He laughed at the thought of a potential nerve-racking first day in the clubhouse.

“This is the first time I’m ever doing something like that,” he said. “But in having new guys come in to the Giants, the thing that you work on the most is getting to know the personality of guys and letting them get an idea of what your personality is, how you fit into the team and the clubhouse, stuff like that. It makes me a little nervous, but it also makes me excited, you know? I don’t really know what to expect. The unknown kind of makes me a little nervous. But I’m really excited about the new adventure, too, especially with this ball club. I think it’s going to be a fun year.”