Last night the Toronto Blue Jays signed Brandon Belt to a one-year deal. The former Giants will earn $ 9.3 million and to make room for him, Julian Merryweather was DFA by the Jays.
Already that the Blue Jays lined up to pay the luxury tax for the first time in their history, now they have chosen to invest $ 9.3 M more on a guy who will not be on the field often.
After all, he is primarily a first baseman. For the past three years, he has been exclusively a first baseman in San Francisco.
But in Toronto, he will not dislodge a certain Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
And if he returns to play in the field as in time, he will not pass in front of George Springer or the two other regulars who hit from the left, namely Daulton Varsho and Kevin Kiermaier. Cavan Biggio and Whit Merrifield can also play in the potato field.
His role is probably to be the first base backup and to be an option as a DH. On the other hand, Alejandro Kirk and George Springer will have their turn as the hitter of choice.
Result? It is to be expected that, for the most part, he will be a pinch hitter. He will obviously have starts, but not necessarily on a regular basis – especially when everyone is healthy.
This therefore means that there is only one position left to be filled among the position players.
- Alejandro Kirk
- Danny Jansen
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
- Brandon Belt
- Cavan Biggio
- Whit Merrifield
- Santiago Espinal
- Matt Chapman
- Bo Bichette
- Daulton Varsho
- Kevin Kiermaier
- george springer
Toronto was missing two position players. Now only one is missing. Will Quebecer Otto Lopez have a chance?
So there will be three new ones (Varsho, Kiermaier and Belt) and all three are left-handed. Clearly, the club knows that we had to work on that this winter.
He will therefore be able, now that his knee is healthy, to provide depth against right-handed pitchers, but it’s more than that.
He will bring leadership.
The Blue Jays (partly) traded Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to change the dynamic. Guys like Kevin Kiermaier and Brandon Belt have seen others and their experience will help the club a lot.
Belt, while not versatile defensively, has two World Series rings in San Francisco. He knows what it takes and the guys will learn from the man who was a great leader of men for the Giants in recent years.
The Jays have a lot of defensive versatility. They weren’t looking for more.
He was the veteran the club needed. If no one else was added in the positional players, the club would still be in the car…provided the guys stay healthy.
- Francisco Lindor is expecting another child.
