Blue Jays agree to 1-year deal with veteran Brandon Belt

The Toronto Blue Jays and veteran first baseman Brandon Belt agreed to a one-year contract, the club announced on Tuesday.

The deal will be worth $9.3 million. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was the first to report on the agreement between both sides.

To make room for Belt on the 40-man roster, the Blue Jays designated right-handed reliever Julian Merryweather for assignment. Toronto has seven days to trade Merryweather or place him on outright waivers.

OFFICIAL: We’ve signed 2x World Series Champion INF Brandon Belt to a one-year contract.

Welcome to our #BlueJays family! pic.twitter.com/MsP9EWwIsV

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) January 10, 2023

Belt, 34, has played his entire 12-year career with the San Francisco Giants, winning two World Series titles and being named an All-Star in 2016. Belt underwent knee surgery in September and said he was looking ahead to the 2023 season after playing only 78 games for the Giants this past campaign.

“I know I have a lot left in me, and that’s what I want to show everybody,” Belt said, who leaves the Giants as seventh among players in the San Francisco era with 1,310 games played.

It was the third procedure on Belt’s knee and his first since 2018.

Belt’s acquisition is the latest move for a Blue Jays front office that has completely re-tooled the ball club, opting to bring in left-handed hitters to what had been a right-handed-hitting heavy team.

Belt joins Kevin Kiermaier and Daulton Varsho as the other lefty batters acquired in free agency and through trade, with outfielders Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel shipped out in separate transactions.

“As we continue to improve upon a strong Blue Jays roster, the elite offensive skills and the veteran presence of Brandon is an addition that will greatly complement this team,” Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Tuesday in a release.

Blue Jays acquire Thompson from Pirates in separate trade

Belt told The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly in September that at this stage of his career, he knows what he can bring as an athlete and that he was looking forward to mentoring young players.

“…I think that’s where the veterans step in and teach these guys how to play big-league baseball,” Belt said. “That’s something I can provide.”

The veteran has missed considerable time due to various injuries, averaging 75 games played in the past three seasons. When healthy, Belt has proven to be a great hitter with a knack for getting on base, as evidenced by his career .356 OBP.

Belt has also hit right-handed pitchers particularly well throughout his career (.268/.363/.477) and is expected to appear as a DH and play first base behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The 34-year-old was particularly good as recently as 2021 when he slashed .274/.378/.597 with 29 home runs and 59 RBIs across 97 games. Belt’s best stretch as a professional came from 2013 to 2016, when he hit .277/.364/.474 and averaged 16 home runs and 61 RBIs.

Merryweather, 31, was acquired as part of the trade that sent Josh Donaldson to the Cleveland Guardians (then the Indians) during the 2018 season.

The hard-throwing reliever struggled to stay healthy during his time in the majors and appeared in 26 games with the Blue Jays this past season, finishing with a 6.75 ERA across 26 2/3 innings.

The Blue Jays also swung a separate trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates, acquiring right-handed pitcher Zach Thompson for outfielder Chavez Young.

Thompson, 29, appeared in 29 games (22 starts) with the Pirates last season, pitching to a 5.19 ERA with 90 strikeouts across 121 2/3 innings.