Blue Jays Sign Brandon Belt

7:58 PM: The belt is guaranteed for $9.3MM, reports Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic (on Twitter).

7:51 PM: Blue Jays sign brandon belt San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser to one-year dealtwitter link). The veteran is heading to Toronto after spending his entire career as a member of the Giants.

A fifth-round pick from San Francisco in 2009, Berto reached the majors after two seasons. He appeared in his 63 games as a rookie and served as a first baseman by his second season. 275/.360/.421 batting average in 145 games. Injuries limited him to 61 regular-season contests during the 2014 season, but he was able to contribute to San Francisco’s third title in his five years in that postseason. I was healthy enough.

Berto battled intermittent injury problems for the next few years. However, when he was healthy, he was a consistently productive attacking player. San Francisco’s pitcher-friendly home stadium weakened his over-the-fence power, but he was a threat with 30-plus doubles a year and had a huge base count thanks to his phenomenal walk rate. At the start of his 2016 season, the Giants signed Belt to his $72.8 million extension, keeping him off the open market throughout the 2021 campaign. He batted .275/.394/.474 in 655 plate appearances, earning his only All-Star award in the process.

The Texas product dipped a bit in his production over the next few seasons and was just above average until 2019. Voting MVP support during the shortened season. He continued to mash the next season, but that year was interrupted frequently by injuries. Belt lost time with a strained left oblique and a sore right knee, but in just his 97 games he hit 29 home runs, breaking his previous career mark while batting .274/.378/. scored .597. Unfortunately, he broke his left thumb in a misplaced pitch late in the season and missed the San Francisco playoff run.

Ahead of what would be Belt’s first trip to free agency, the Giants tagged him with an $18.9 million qualifying offer.He accepted and returned to the Bay Area for another season. Again that proved to be a problem. The first stint he had was a very short stint related to COVID-19, but his two later stints were more worrisome. He lost about three weeks between May and June to inflammation in his bulky right knee, which reappeared in mid-August.

After his second knee-related IL placement, the 12-year veteran chose to shut things down and undergo season-ending surgery. It was the third surgery he had on that knee. Berto admitted he might consider retiring if his recovery doesn’t go well, but he told reporters a few weeks later that he feels the surgery has made him feel better. .

Injuries took him out of perhaps his worst season, heading into a 35-year-old campaign. He batted .213/.326/.350 in 298 plate appearances. Berto still walked him with an excellent clip of 12.4%, but his power production dropped. He hit his eight home runs and posted his career-low . 138 ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average). His 38.5% hard for the belt His contact rate, while a little higher than average, is a notable drop from 2020-21 levels.

Toronto clearly believes the drop in productivity is a symptom of injury and hopes the club will be less concerned after last summer’s surgery. , he adds a quality left-handed bat to his primarily right-handed lineup. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Become an everyday first baseman. Danny Jansen When Alejandro Kirk A number to get a good number of designated hitter at-bats when others are in the lineup at catcher. Belt adds balance to the mix, as everyone in that group hits from the right side. Adds another high upside attack option to Schneider.

It’s a short-term deal, but it’s not a frivolous commitment. Considering Berto’s $9.3 million salary, Toronto’s projected 2023 salary puts him just over $212 million according to Roster Resource calculations. This breaks last year’s commitment of approximately $171 million, which was a franchise record. More notably, Jay’s cemented its position as a luxury taxpayer for the first time in franchise history. According to Roster Resource, franchise tax payments have increased by about $242 million. After entering the night within the rounding error of the base threshold of $233 million, they’re well above that with more aggressive help.

A team’s CBT numbers are officially tallied at the end of the season, so the front office could theoretically look for ways to get below the line. That seems unlikely as the Jays want it to be his first AL East title in eight years. Toronto boasts him in one of the best lineups in the league, but he could be looking for help behind the rotation and in the bullpen over the next few months.

The Blue Jays will pay a 20% tax on the first $20 million CBT overage. As a result of this signing, they will receive a commission of approximately $1.84MM. That means their actual commitment to bring Belt is closer to $11MM. From a tax perspective, over $253 million is subject to a 30% tax rate on the excess. Anything over $273 million is subject to further penalties.

More coming.