Why the Toronto Blue Jays should bring back Brandon Belt for the 2024 season

The Toronto Blue Jays have avoided the big names on the free-agent board this winter, whether that is by choice or not.

There are some big names still left as superagent Scott Boras continues to maximize the contract offers for his clients, which means the Jays could still add before the season rolls around. However, indications from those close to the organization feel the heavy lifting is over for Toronto with Spring Training right around the corner.

While the club seemed to be in the mix for Shohei Ohtani out of the gate, the club has made a few transactions this winter although to lesser fanfare (for obvious reasons, Ohtani is tough to beat for a reason). The front office brought back fan favourite Kevin Kiermaier on a one-year deal while also adding veteran Justin Turner on a one-year pact, Isiah Kiner-Falefa on a two-year contract, and Yariel Rodríguez on a four-year deal although that hasn’t been finalized at this time.

On the way out includes several roster mainstays, including third baseman Matt Chapman, 2B/LF Whit Merrifield, LHP Hyun Jin Ryu, and RHP Jordan Hicks, with the fiery right-hander the only former member able to find a new deal so far this winter. The club will also enter the 2024 season without 1B/DH Brandon Belt, as there was a possibility that the long-time Giants infielder was prepared to walk away from the game, although a recent report from Andrew Baggarly at the Athletic has the 35-year-old not only returning for another campaign but reportedly close to a deal with a big league club.

The Blue Jays should bring back veteran slugger Brandon Belt on another one-year deal

For Belt, the one season he had in Toronto was solid for his first home season out of the Bay Area.

The lefty-bat authored a .254/.369/.490 slash line through 359 at-bats with 23 doubles, 19 home runs, and 43 RBIs to the tune of a .858 OPS, which led the Blue Jays last season. Working as the club’s main DH option, the Texas product had two different stints on the IL while with Toronto last year, including a hamstring injury and muscle spasms in his back late in the campaign. Even with these injury concerns, the 13-year veteran still appeared in 103 games, a high for Belt since his 2019 season, and bounced back after a 2022 campaign that saw him limited to just 254 at-bats in his final season with the Giants.

Looking at the current Blue Jays roster, one could argue that the current offseason acquisitions have not raised the floor compared to what has currently departed.

The Jays signed two defensive-minded players in Kiermaier and Kiner-Falefa, one pitcher (for depth, albeit with risk), and one bat-first type player in Turner. While this is a well-rounded group of players who will fit their assigned role, the Jays enter the 2024 season needing some more offense to contend in a stacked AL East division and it doesn’t feel like the club has done enough to combat opposing AL teams pitching upgrades.

Even with the idea that the club should see offensive resurgences from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, and Alejandro Kirk this year after down numbers last season, the Jays could benefit from adding another bench type of bat. This is where Belt fits in perfectly.

For starters, Belt was solid for the club when healthy, producing a 91st percentile barrel % (15.0), a 97th percentile BB% (15.1) and was hitting in the sweet spot of the bat at a 44.5% clip, good enough to rank in the 99th percentile. He stayed away from balls outside the zone (96th percentile chase rate) and when he connected, the ball would travel well to the tune of a .370 BABip and a 40.0% hard hit %, 1.2% above the league average last year.