What's up with Brandon Belt? Former Blue Jays slugger remains unsigned
The Toronto Blue Jays had an offensive breakout of sorts on Monday, much to the enjoyment of their fans.
The Jays, who defeated the Kansas City Royals by a 6-5 score, hit the six-run mark for the first time since a win in New York against the Yankees on April 6.
Toronto’s 109 runs rank 24th in the major leagues, with the team clinging to a .500 record at a mark of 15-15. With the team looking to make a third consecutive postseason appearance, it’s clear the team’s offence will need to start firing at a higher clip to make the playoffs.
But one player who was a big part of last year’s roster remains not only unsigned by Toronto, but by all 30 MLB teams.
Infielder Brandon Belt, who signed a one-year, $9.3 million deal with the Jays in 2023 after 12 seasons playing for the San Francisco Giants, remains without a contract this season.
Belt put up a .254 batting average with 86 hits, 19 home runs, 43 RBIs, and 53 runs scored in 103 games for the Blue Jays last year.
“It’s kind of baffled me a little bit,” Belt told Sportsnet’s JD Bunkis Podcast in March. “I honestly haven’t had hardly any calls at all that have gone past the point of teams saying, Hey, we’re interested, that they were just checking in. We haven’t even gotten down to talking about money with anybody or anything like that. I wish I had an answer for you. I just don’t.”
Toronto didn’t stand pat this offseason: they signed another former California baseball hero in ex-Los Angeles Dodgers star Justin Turner, who is hitting .311 with 28 hits, four home runs, 15 RBIs, and 15 runs scored in 28 games. But given the team’s offensive struggles, it’s hard not to wonder if they could’ve found a way to fit in Brandon Belt as well.
In the meantime, the 36-year-old Belt seems to be making the most of his downtime, including sharing his love for fishing on the @brandonbeltfishing Instagram account.
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Only time will tell if Belt returns to the major leagues or if we really have seen the last of the former Blue Jays fan favourite in pro baseball.
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