Blue Jays' new signing Belt sees them as "World Series favourites"

Brandon Belt seems to have one goal with the Toronto Blue Jays: add another World Series ring to his collection.

Belt, who signed with the Blue Jays this offseason after an impressive career with the San Francisco Giants, has high expectations for his first year in Toronto.

“We should be World Series favourites this year,” Belt told TSN 1050’s Overdrive program on Wednesday. “[Toronto’s front office] added a few more pieces this offseason, and should be better than we were last — or they were — last year. So it’s exciting. I think people should get excited about that. They got a good young core that should be good for a long time.”

But Belt, a two-time World Series winner with the Giants in 2012 and 2014, knows that preseason expectations mean little if you don’t deliver on them.

“It’s great to be to be favourites and everything, but you want to be known as a World Series champion when it comes to it,” he added.

Belt has played 12 seasons for the Giants, the only MLB franchise he’s known to date. He has a .261 batting average, 1,146 hits, 175 home runs, 584 RBIs, and 628 runs scored. Belt had a batting average of .213 with 54 hits, eight homers, 23 RBIs, and 25 runs scored in 78 games in 2022.

The 34-year-old, who signed as a depth-first baseman to back up the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., says he realizes that his role may have shifted from his days as an All-Star back in 2016. Having dealt with three knee surgeries in his career (including one in 2022), Belt is hoping his first year with the Blue Jays will have him back to a better physical condition.

“I’m not obviously not trying to come to take over anything. And then on the field, I think, you know, for me, I’ll be that person that I was in 2021. Now that I feel healthy and my body’s not gonna hold me back,” Belt added. “I’m just here just to kind of help out in the clubhouse, hopefully give some guys some direction if they need it.”

Opening Day for the Blue Jays is set for March 30, when they take on the St. Louis Cardinals.

You might also like:
• Former Blue Jays outfielder Tapia signs with Red Sox