Post by Rog on Apr 13, 2016 8:32:31 GMT -5
By wrapping him up at a reported 6/$79, the Giants got Brandon Belt at $16 million per for his first four years of free agency. That's just $2 million more per year to wrap up Belt in his prime than the Cubs paid for 34-year-old Ben Zobrist. And not to say that Brandon is in Jason Heyward's class, but the Giants got only two fewer years of Brandon for more than $100 million less than the Cubs paid for Heyward. Since the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, I could see teams easily paying over $100 million for six years of Brandon's service.
Here is an intriguing article on the signing:
No major league team is more loyal to its veteran players than the San Francisco Giants. They showed their commitment to those who helped them win world championships three times in a five-year period by re-signing such aging and declining free agents as Marco Scuturo, Aubrey Huff and Angel Pagan when conventional wisdom suggested the front office should have done little more than thank them for the memories.
The philosophy of executive vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean and senior vice president/general manager Bobby Evans is even stronger when the situation involves young homegrown players who are approaching the primes of their career. That trend continued over the weekend when the Giants announced the signing of Brandon Belt to a six-year contract worth a reported $79 million.
“To say that I’m excited and grateful is really an understatement,” Belt said. “A lot of the great core players are going to be here for a lot of years to come. I think that should excite anybody, just having a chance to win year in and year out. I think I have a lot of growing left to do and I wouldn’t want to do it anywhere else other than here. I just can’t wait to get back out there and look to win another World Series.”
Belt’s six-year deal replaces his 2016 contract worth $6.2 million and extends for another five years, through the 2021 season. The first baseman will receive $8.8 million in 2017 and $16 million annually for the remaining four slates. As a result, Belt joins catcher Buster Posey and shortstop Brandon Crawford in being locked up through 2021. The Giants also have second baseman Joe Panik and third baseman Matt Duffy under team control through the 2020 campaign.
“He’s one of our guys and I’m glad this got done,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “It’s good news for me. I know I’ll have one of the best first basemen out there in the next five, six years. I couldn’t be happier for Brandon and his family. It’s well-earned and deserved. He’s done so much for us and I thank him for that.”
A product of the University of Texas who was drafted in the fifth round by the Giants in 2009, Belt reached the Triple-A ranks at the end of his first minor league season, in 2010, and made his big league debut with San Francisco a year later, when he batted .225 with nine home runs and 18 RBI in 63 games.
“He got to the big leagues in lightning fashion, with almost no minor league time,” Sabean said. “Literally right before our eyes in the toughest classroom in the world, he’s just getting better and better. And to think that you can marry Gold Glove-caliber first base play with the potential to be a long-lasting, middle-of-the-order hitter for an organization. I know this was very high on Bobby’s priority list and he and his staff did a great job of doing this. It’s definitely a win-win.”
A member of the Giants’ 2012 and 2014 world championship teams, Belt entered the 2016 season with a batting average of .271, including a .280 performance in 2015 that also featured a career-high 18 home runs and 68 RBI. He finished second in Gold Glove voting at first base last year while leading the National League at his position with a .997 fielding percentage. Over his career, he owns a +23 in Defensive Runs Saved, which is among the highest of any first baseman during that time.
Possessing above-average power from the left side of the plate that gets muted somewhat by the large dimensions of AT&T Park, Belt has been slowed only by a variety of injuries since reaching the game’s top level. In 2014, he missed 96 games while making three trips to the disabled list—once for a broken left thumb and twice for a concussion. In 2015, he was slowed early by a right groin strain before Belt missed the final 15 contests after suffering his third concussion in the last six years.
So far this year, he has looked like the player the Giants know he can be. Belt, who will celebrate his 28th birthday on April 20, concluded the series versus the Dodgers with a .292 batting average along with three doubles, a home run and four RBI this season.
His two-run shot versus Los Angeles on Sunday tied the game, which set the stage for the team’s 9-6 triumph after trailing 5-0 following the first half-inning. Bochy believes Belt has yet to reach his peak, based on the improvements he has seen over the last couple of years.
“He just continues to get better and better, particularly at the plate,” Bochy said. “He’s learned to be much more patient and he’s learned how to use his power in the right situations. Brandon has really matured as an offensive hitter in so many ways and I think he’s just on the verge of putting everything together over the course of a full season.”
Not only does the Belt signing solidify the Giants’ infield for the foreseeable future, it also gives the team some cost-certainty at an affordable rate. In essence, the deal will pay Belt $64 million over what would have been his first four years of free agency. Finding that kind of value on the open market would have been difficult, to say the least. Add in the fact that Belt is already family, and it doesn’t get any better for everyone involved.
Here is an intriguing article on the signing:
No major league team is more loyal to its veteran players than the San Francisco Giants. They showed their commitment to those who helped them win world championships three times in a five-year period by re-signing such aging and declining free agents as Marco Scuturo, Aubrey Huff and Angel Pagan when conventional wisdom suggested the front office should have done little more than thank them for the memories.
The philosophy of executive vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean and senior vice president/general manager Bobby Evans is even stronger when the situation involves young homegrown players who are approaching the primes of their career. That trend continued over the weekend when the Giants announced the signing of Brandon Belt to a six-year contract worth a reported $79 million.
“To say that I’m excited and grateful is really an understatement,” Belt said. “A lot of the great core players are going to be here for a lot of years to come. I think that should excite anybody, just having a chance to win year in and year out. I think I have a lot of growing left to do and I wouldn’t want to do it anywhere else other than here. I just can’t wait to get back out there and look to win another World Series.”
Belt’s six-year deal replaces his 2016 contract worth $6.2 million and extends for another five years, through the 2021 season. The first baseman will receive $8.8 million in 2017 and $16 million annually for the remaining four slates. As a result, Belt joins catcher Buster Posey and shortstop Brandon Crawford in being locked up through 2021. The Giants also have second baseman Joe Panik and third baseman Matt Duffy under team control through the 2020 campaign.
“He’s one of our guys and I’m glad this got done,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “It’s good news for me. I know I’ll have one of the best first basemen out there in the next five, six years. I couldn’t be happier for Brandon and his family. It’s well-earned and deserved. He’s done so much for us and I thank him for that.”
A product of the University of Texas who was drafted in the fifth round by the Giants in 2009, Belt reached the Triple-A ranks at the end of his first minor league season, in 2010, and made his big league debut with San Francisco a year later, when he batted .225 with nine home runs and 18 RBI in 63 games.
“He got to the big leagues in lightning fashion, with almost no minor league time,” Sabean said. “Literally right before our eyes in the toughest classroom in the world, he’s just getting better and better. And to think that you can marry Gold Glove-caliber first base play with the potential to be a long-lasting, middle-of-the-order hitter for an organization. I know this was very high on Bobby’s priority list and he and his staff did a great job of doing this. It’s definitely a win-win.”
A member of the Giants’ 2012 and 2014 world championship teams, Belt entered the 2016 season with a batting average of .271, including a .280 performance in 2015 that also featured a career-high 18 home runs and 68 RBI. He finished second in Gold Glove voting at first base last year while leading the National League at his position with a .997 fielding percentage. Over his career, he owns a +23 in Defensive Runs Saved, which is among the highest of any first baseman during that time.
Possessing above-average power from the left side of the plate that gets muted somewhat by the large dimensions of AT&T Park, Belt has been slowed only by a variety of injuries since reaching the game’s top level. In 2014, he missed 96 games while making three trips to the disabled list—once for a broken left thumb and twice for a concussion. In 2015, he was slowed early by a right groin strain before Belt missed the final 15 contests after suffering his third concussion in the last six years.
So far this year, he has looked like the player the Giants know he can be. Belt, who will celebrate his 28th birthday on April 20, concluded the series versus the Dodgers with a .292 batting average along with three doubles, a home run and four RBI this season.
His two-run shot versus Los Angeles on Sunday tied the game, which set the stage for the team’s 9-6 triumph after trailing 5-0 following the first half-inning. Bochy believes Belt has yet to reach his peak, based on the improvements he has seen over the last couple of years.
“He just continues to get better and better, particularly at the plate,” Bochy said. “He’s learned to be much more patient and he’s learned how to use his power in the right situations. Brandon has really matured as an offensive hitter in so many ways and I think he’s just on the verge of putting everything together over the course of a full season.”
Not only does the Belt signing solidify the Giants’ infield for the foreseeable future, it also gives the team some cost-certainty at an affordable rate. In essence, the deal will pay Belt $64 million over what would have been his first four years of free agency. Finding that kind of value on the open market would have been difficult, to say the least. Add in the fact that Belt is already family, and it doesn’t get any better for everyone involved.
