Brandon

Belt

Belt is 25 years old and coming off a season in which he hit .254/.369/.490 with 19 homers and 43 RBI in 404 plate appearances for the Blue Jays. When he was healthy, he looked good as one of just six players to post a barrel rate of at least 15 percent and a chase rate below 23 percent. Belt would be a good fit in Texas to replace Mitch Garver at designated hitter and he played for Texas manager Bruce Bochy in San Francisco, so familiarity is working in his favor. Time will tell if the interest will turn into an offer or agreement.

The 35-year-old impending free agent said he’ll take some time and talk to his family before coming up with a plan. Belt was productive when he was on the field for the Jays in 2023 — hitting .254/.369/.490 with 19 homers and 43 RBI in 404 plate appearances. It’ll probably come down to whether or not he wants to put his oft-injured body though the grind of another big league season.

It was his third homer in the last four games, which is great to see after the veteran slugger recently returned from an IL stint due to lumbar spine muscle spasms. The 35-year-old closes the regular season with a strong .254/.369/490 batting line to go along with 19 home runs and 43 RBI over 103 games. If healthy, he has a chance to be a real weapon during the postseason.

Belt has homered in each of his last two ballgames, but he’ll get a breather in this one. George Springer will function as the team’s designated hitter in his place while Cavan Biggio will draw a start in right field and bat second against Shawn Armstrong and the Rays.

Belt clobbered his 420-foot solo shot off of Erasmo Ramirez in the fourth inning, extending the Blue Jays’ early advantage to 5-0. That would wind up being his only hit in four at-bats on the evening. The 35-year-old slugger has performed well when on the field this season, slashing a healthy .252/.369/.483 with 18 homers and 42 RBI in his first 396 plate appearances with the Blue Jays.

The 35-year-old slugger tagged Zach McAllister for his 409-foot three-run shot in the sixth inning, extending the Blue Jays’ advantage to 6-0. That would be his lone hit in four at-bats on the evening. For the season, Belt is now hitting .252/.369/.477 with 17 long balls and 41 RBI in 392 plate appearances with the Jays.

Belt returns to Toronto’s lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Yankees after two-week stint on the injured list due to back spasms. The 35-year-old veteran slugger has struggled to stay healthy this season in his Blue Jays debut, but has posted a robust .839 OPS with 16 homers in 97 games.

The Jays are taking things day-to-day at the moment, but barring any setbacks it sounds like Belt is closing in on a return from the injured list. The 35-year-old slugger has been shelved since mid-September with lumbar spine muscle spasms.

Belt has taken swings off of the pitching machine each of the last two days and felt good after doing so. It sounds like he’ll face some live pitching over the weekend, and as long as no issues arise there he could be cleared to rejoin the Blue Jays.

No surprise here after Belt was removed from Monday’s showdown against the Rangers with lower back muscle spasms. The veteran slugger is sitting out for the 11th time in Toronto’s last 13 games due to an ongoing back issue. It’ll be Spencer Horwitz filling in at the cold corner in his absence.