The Rangers have had “internal conversations” about a possible free agent pursuit of Brandon Belt, reports Buster Olney of ESPN. The veteran is plenty familiar with Texas skipper Bruce Bochy after their nine seasons together in San Francisco.
There’s also a fairly straightforward roster fit. Texas lost last year’s primary designated hitter, Mitch Garver, to the Mariners in free agency. That leaves DH as the only partial question mark in a loaded lineup. Last year’s #4 overall pick, Wyatt Langford, is fast approaching the majors. With only 44 minor league games on his résumé, the former University of Florida star could begin next season at Triple-A Round Rock.
If the Rangers want to get Langford a few more minor league reps, they’d be set to rotate a handful of players through the DH spot. Utility player Ezequiel Duran would probably be the top option, while former first-round pick Justin Foscue and one-time top catching prospect Sam Huff are also possibilities. Texas should have a very good lineup in either case, but adding a proven veteran bat could replace some of the production lost with Garver’s departure.
Belt would be a solid addition for that role. He’s coming off another very strong offensive showing. The longtime Giant signed with the Blue Jays on a one-year, $9.3MM deal last winter. He connected on 19 home runs in 404 plate appearances, running a .254/.369/.490 batting line. That came in a limited role — Toronto kept him to 34 PAs against left-handed pitching — but Belt posted an excellent .256/.375/.515 mark against righties.
Last year’s 103 games marked his highest workload since 2019. Belt has battled right knee issues throughout his career. A September 2022 surgery looked as if it might end his playing days. Fortunately, Belt rebounded from the procedure to turn in a productive and generally healthy season. He landed on the injured list twice last year, but they were brief absences for a left hamstring strain and back spasms, respectively.
Belt started 69 games at DH and opened 28 contests at first base. He’s best suited on a team that can afford to offer him extended run at designated hitter. With Nathaniel Lowe holding down the first base spot in Arlington, the Rangers qualify. Lowe is also a left-handed hitter, so there wouldn’t be a ton of matchup possibilities between the two players, but each of Duran, Huff and Foscue hit from the right side and could take reps against lefty pitching.
Turning 36 in April, Belt will likely be limited to one-year offers for the remainder of his career. He wouldn’t be any kind of long-term roadblock to Langford, who’d likely still reach the majors in 2024 as injuries in the outfield (or to Belt himself) arise.
The biggest obstacle might be financial. It’s unclear how much spending room general manager Chris Young and his front office still possess. The franchise may need to renegotiate its in-market broadcasting contract with Diamond Sports Group at a reduced rights fee. Paired with an already hefty slate of financial commitments, they’ve limited themselves to fairly modest acquisitions on the heels of their first World Series win.
Texas has brought in Tyler Mahle, Kirby Yates and David Robertson while reuniting with Travis Jankowski in free agency. That’s not a complete dearth of activity, but they’ve mostly avoided taking on notable salary in 2024. Mahle’s two-year contract is backloaded, playing him only $5.5MM this year. Yates and Jankowski are combining for $6.2MM on one-year deals. Robertson inked an $11.5MM guarantee but is only making $6.5MM this season, taking the form of a $5MM salary and a $1.5MM mutual option buyout at year’s end. The remaining $5MM is deferred.
Belt’s camp at Excel Sports Management should want to beat last year’s $9.3MM guarantee, since the veteran is coming off a much better platform year than he was last winter. Joc Pederson, another lefty-hitting platoon DH, just landed $12.5MM from the Diamondbacks off an inferior season. Belt could seek something similar. Texas would also have to pay taxes on any acquisitions, as the Robertson deal pushed their CBT projection above this year’s $237MM base threshold. They’re taxed at a 32% rate on spending up to the $257MM mark.
When did Belt become a 2 way player??? I don’t see any other explanation for this phenomenon.
The Braves originally drafted him as a pitcher. My friend caught him in high school and had to wear two gloves because he threw so hard.
Lol. Sarcasm turned out to be real
How about JD Martinez?
Takes away at bats from Duran, Foscue and Langford because he wants in the lineup everyday. You don’t bring Langford up to sit on the bench. Plus Bochy likes to rotate guys through the DH spot based on who’s hot.
I suggest JD Martinez has a lot of suitors, but he wants $20-23M per year for 1-2 years. About a third of MLB teams would sign Martinez right now if he would come down on his asking price.
We will see . . . probably Angels now that the Diamondbacks moved on and signed Joc Pederson.
Interesting. Probably give him a 1-year deal as a platoon guy vs. righties.
This would displace Wyatt Langford though…
Maybe you give Taveras the day off vs righties and play Carter in CF with Langford in LF. There’s room on the roster for both. Probably at the expense of Josh Smith or Foscue
Regardless of the Rangers’ financial considerations in regard to the CBT, I think Belt has earned himself a minimum of 1 year/$12.5M and maybe as much as 1 year/$20.5M (going by the current market, with every contract so bloated).
Upwards of $30 million with the tax for a 2 win player who might be DH only. Great idea.
/s
I literally said- regardless of the Rangers’ financial considerations in regard to the CBT- meaning I understand that anything they pay him would cost them significantly more?
What Belt has earned/what the market has determined to be the general value of comparable free agents this off season should be primary consideration for offering Belt a salary.
Think about it this way:
Team 1: We acknowledge you are worth $20M a season, but we don’t want to pay more than that for you and we are in the penalty zone for any additional salaries, so we’re asking you to personally get paid $15,150,000 so we stay just at or slightly below that $20M mark for our own purposes, while you, an individual, give up 25% of your market value for us, a multi-billion dollar organization for whom that extra cost would be an annoyance and more of a ‘it’s the principle of it’ concern moreso than any actual but in point of fact, non-factor budgetary considerations.
Team 2: You’re worth $20M, we will pay you $20M. The end.
Which team is that player gonna sign with?
With a few hometown exceptions or players who feel they’ve made more money than they need and apart from wanting to be paid fair market value, are willing to take less to sign with clubs they personally prefer, or to sign with a club in a region they want to live in, etc. I don’t think any player is going to give a team a discount to make their financial burden easier on the team. That’s silly. This isn’t a charity. And Belt is at the point in his career where if he can get an extra few million in a single season, he should push for that money if someone out there will offer it.
He is better off taking an extra few million from literally anybody over any club in contention toying with signing him and asking him to take a discount to play for them.
A $1M or $2M discount? I could see that. But a $5M or $10M discount? He’d be hurting his own bottom line a bit too much.
2 win players don’t warrant “regardless of the Rangers’ financial situation” type of contracts. If the Rangers are going to spend big on a DH (and I don’t think this is a good idea), Turner and Martinez would be far better options.
They have him projected at 1 year/$15M, which is not insane and is quite fair.
Nowadays 2 WAR is worth between $4.5M and $9.5M depending on the position the player plays and how overall productive they are, regardless of WAR (since WAR can be deceiving due to some players being extremely inconsistent and streaky) but Belt has been reliable in his performance and is a veteran who took a discount last year, so it’s reasonable to assume he is looking for median/market value on his next contract. Going by the range of WAR value and the 2.0 WAR he put up last season, it’s completely reasonable to assume he is seeking out and should receive 1 year/$14M, give or take, which is approximately what he’s been projected for.
This Texas thing is merely a rumor and is ultimately meaningless and their financial constraints at this point shouldn’t be a bellweather for Belt’s market value or what he should be signed for.
Y’all acting like someone like Brandon Belt is a charity case or a desperation move for any team that signs him, which the facts don’t bear out.
If I was a club looking to sign a player that would offer 20 HR power and 2.0 WAR and was a veteran, I’d be offering that guy around $15M in today’s market- and Belt should be seeking that out and if the Rangers can’t handle it, someone else will probably sign him and there’s no particular reason Belt should take a discount.
$15 million turns into $20 million with the luxury tax That’s $10 million per win (possibly more) and above the top end of your own range.
So are you saying every team would get a luxury tax penalty for signing him? Also this feels like a double standard since there have been a few guys who signed with teams at the highest luxury tax bracket, for their market value- meaning the teams paid the player their fair value and ate the penalty without penalizing the player by asking them to sign at a market discount to get under the difference. I.E. nobody has been asked to sign with a luxury tax penalty team for $10M when they’re worth $13.2M in order for the team to only pay the market total.
Belt shouldn’t have to be the one to literally take one for the team in this issue.
And again- they can afford it. Any team that would sign Belt can afford it and thus he should get his fair value rate, which, even at a “the market is reffing a limit so remaining free agents are all taking slight discounts just to sign” Belt should still be asking for around $12M.
Apparently Belt doesn’t deserve the same consideration according to y’all.
….just following the discussions fellas, but it made me think…
It’d be interesting if the Luxury Tax went to the players, not the league.
I wonder if that’d increase or decrease teams going over Luxury Tax thresholds.
*the market is reaching its limit
If Belt is waiting for 15-20M he’ll be waiting an awfully long time. I don’t care how many WARS the guy has won, RH platoon players aren’t getting 15-20M in the year of the RSN crash.
I’m only commenting if he changes his name to Adonis Belt
I see what you did there. I like it
Do you mean Adolis Belt?
Or do you mean Iliac Furrows?
That escalated quickly
Sounds like a bad idea. Guy’s washed up. He can go play in Korea if he still wants to play.
An .858 OPS is washed up?
@Jaysfansince92
Yes.
Interesting. By your standards most of the league should just go play in Korea.
@Jaysfansince92
Most of the league is watered down. I’d like to see a reduction in the number of teams. Far too many average to below average players that make others look better than they truly are. I do agree, most should be playing in Korea.
Or pitching and bullpens are just so advanced and deep now that it’s a minor miracle when someone gets a hit.
Overall terrible point of view and opinion, 2 out of 10
@Dustyslambchops23
Do you have data that hitters are even worse today than 20 years ago? Or that pitchers are significantly much better than 20 years ago? The main reason hitters are striking out more is because they’ve traded the contact for power.
Overall terrible point of view and opinion, 0 out of 10
Yeah how dare those small market teams get in the way of the big market teams getting all the best players in both the draft and FA /s.
@Jaysfansince92
TBR are a small market team that don’t have the big payrolls like LAD, NYY and NYM, yet they always seem to be competitive with the least amount of star power. They do a great job with the limited resources they have.
BTW, top 10 teams by payroll from 2023:
N.Y. Mets – Missed the playoffs
N.Y. Yankees – Missed the playoffs
San Diego – Missed the playoffs
Philadelphia – Made LCS
L.A. Dodgers – Knocked out of first playoff series.
L.A. Angels – Missed Playoffs
Toronto – Knocked out of first playoff series.
Atlanta – Knocked out of first playoff series.
Texas – Won WS
Houston – Made LCS
#28 – Tampa Bay – Knocked out of first playoff series.
4 of the teams didn’t make the playoffs, 3 of them were knocked out of the first playoff series they played. Having the most expensive players on your team doesn’t mean you’re winning the championship.
Oh no, you doubled down.
@Go Go Power Rangers
Yes, and?
Yay, Phillies!
He’s an upgrade over Robbie Grossman
@Ranger Danger19
Didn’t you win a WS with Grossman?
So should teams stop trying to improve their roster if they win a title? I don’t understand your point. Belt is a good DH option vs righties and a good clubhouse guy. He fits nearly everyone’s roster.
@Ranger Danger19
Well, Jays had him and got knocked out of the WC round so not much of an upgrade.
So should the Cleveland Guardians be starting Austin Hedges because he won a ring and Bo Naylor didn’t? Grossman didn’t even contribute to the Rangers in their playoff run. He made 23 plate appearances, struck out 12 times, only had two hits, no RBI, and only recieved 1 plate appearance during the WS.
Which one has the 2023 ring?
Case closed!
Old York I don’t think you’re arguing in good faith.
@Ignorant Son-of-a-b
How should I change my argument so you think I’m arguing in good faith?
You are saying Grossman is better than Belt because Grossman has a ring. I just find that a very specious argument, at best. You would have to bring more data to the table to prove that point sufficiently. Did you even look at Belt’s stats last season??
@Ignorant Son-of-a-b
Which cherry picked data should I choose from to present my argument?
In 2023, Grossman had more runs, more singles, doubles and triples. More RBIs, more stolen bases and less strikeouts
Belt is demonstrably better by WAR, OPS+, wRC+, and triple slash. Okay so Grossman you can put in the field and he can steal bases, which Belt cannot do. But to compare them as pure hitters, Belt is more of one.
@Old York
One player is responsible for a team not moving on in the playoffs? Confirmation bias at it’s finest.
@Old York
In 2023 Grossman was below replacement level (-0.1). By comparison Belt was worth 2.0. Belt hit nearly twice as many HR, his OPS was .124 higher, and he drew more walks.
Also you accuse him of cherry picking stats and then proceed to use singles, double, triples, RBI, and SB for your arguement on why Grossman is a better player (the most amusing of which is the SB as Grossman only stole 1 base all year)? Belt is a much better hitter overall and the one thing Grossman can do that Belt can’t (play the OF) Grossman isn’t even good at (-1.5 defensive WAR).
What is even more amusing is despite Grossman having more single, doubles, and triples, Belt had 2 more hits overall which means Belt just converted all those singles, doubles, and triples into Homeruns. Is you arguement that HR are the least valuable type of hit?
You are a literal walking billboard for confirmation bias in this discussion.
@Jaysfansince92
I never acused anyone of cherry picking. I clearly stated which cherry picked data should I choose. Seems like you missed that point and went on to ramble about nothing for the rest of your article. Ouch, that hurts.
Ultimately, Belt wasn’t on a WS team so he isn’t worth the time or money.
@Ignorant Son-of-a-b
Is that the ultimate truth?
Belt is one of 26 and the Jays obviously didn’t have the best 26. I feel like you know this and are intentionally trolling.
I suppose it depends on the needs of the specific team in question. But I bet if you sent out a survey to each FO in baseball asking them to choose between Grossman & Belt …that one or the other could be added to their roster FOR FREE…they would choose Belt. (And don’t ask me why we’re spending so much ink on this distinction…we could have achieved World Peace by now lol.)
World peace & Mariners winning the World Series.
Old York, if the Mariners sign Blake Snell and then trade for Dylan Cease to then flip him over to Cincy or Baltimore for a couple hitters, we’ll be in good shape!!!
I’ve always enjoyed my time in Seattle. You’ve never beat on a trash can have you?
Only hid from the cops in one…hahaha just kidding.
Insituating that only way he could prove Grossman wasn’t better was by cherrypicking stats is basically the same thing. Semantics won’t save you.
As for rambling on I addressed your arguement and showed why it was meaningless.
Could see Belt landing there on a lesser deal than anticipated. He’s from Texas and the reunion with Bochy would be good motivation for a guy who’s already made his millions. Plus his agent is not named Boras.
And to think when he was a rookie he was involved with the body outline in the outfield. The horrors of that memory.
I don’t see how Belt is a fit for the Rangers. Langford should be Garver’s replacement on the roster.
I agree. God this lineup is freaking stacked
There’s room for both. Garver and Grossman have left the building. Plus they carried 3 catchers on the roster the majority of last year.
Would be a sensible add. He could spell Lowe at first on occasion and doesnt really impact Langford too much
I can also spell “Lowe.” I wish I got paid 800k to just spell his name correctly.
Age 36 and just waiting for the hamstring to pop, or the ACL to blow out
Heim, Lowe, semein, seager, jung, Carter, Taveras, García,
Bench/dh
Duran, smith, Langford, Jankowski, knizner
AAA
Huff, Foscue
Can’t see spending 12 million plus tax on a platoon bat.
Signing belt or a dh type hitter would probably move Taveras out of the lineup and shift over Carter into center. It also gives them flexibility with Lowe and they could potentially swap him for an arm to help them out before there IL guys come back
Carter has to prove he can hit lefties at a passable level before he’s displacing Taveras full-time in center. The good thing about the Rangers outfield is there’s enough ABs and playing time for everyone … especially if they don’t add a full-time DH.
Belt’s knees have been rebuilt 7 times.
That’s kind of the beauty of this roster. They’re all either hurt or going to be hurt. We have enough talent to keep pushing forward on any given day.
Belt isn’t washed up, but assuming he costs somewhere around ~$10M wouldnt that money be better spent on an arm?
I kinda agree but they’ve focused on short term deals this year. Monty is going to take years and money.
I’m my opinion they should’ve already signed him because this broadcasting thing will work itself out in time. The folks in charge apparently disagree which is concerning.
Save the money that Belt would cost. Save money by trading Heaney. Use that money to sign Montgomery. If they still need money then trade Taveras to make room for Langford in the OF.
Sign Montgomery and the off season if done.
“is” done.
Wouldn’t be a bad move. Langford only has like 80 PA above single A. If he turns out to be ready at some point in the season then they can trade Belt and get a prospect back for him. If it turns out Langford needs some more time in the minors then they are covered.
They also had internal discussions about what to get from Torchy’s.
It’s not a bad move but I just can’t understand the why. We have so many young internal options that need to get those AB’s. Let’s find out if any of them have a long term future in the bigs instead of spending that money on someone that just gets in their way.
“Discussions.” Camps open in a little over two weeks.
I had discussion about buying a private jet. I’m just waiting for the price to come down to about 5k…
I could also use that money for a few months of rent.
Make it happen!
I agree that signing Monty is a bigger need. We can never have enough SPs . One early injury will create a whole that can’t be filled until Scherzer, deGrom or Mahl return. By then it could be difficult to recover.
It makes me wonder…both Tampa Bay and Texas lost significant parts to their rotations last year…and both ended up doing pretty well w/o 10’s of millions of dollars worth of pitching.
Meanwhile, the Orioles spent $$ on Kyle Gibson alone and ended up best in league.
Pitching isn’t a myth…but…has the science of pitching evolved that teams have an easier time replicating results??
Odd
It was their team hitting that saved all those teams.
Belt is a solid option for several teams but not Texas. Foscue et al would benefit from MLB ABs to establish their value, even for future trade purposes. If they have money, spend it on pitching.
Agreed. I like Belt fine as a player, but I prefer the idea of saving the remaining bench spots for the young guys internally.
I was a little disappointed when Knizner was signed, costing Huff a chance to lock down the backup catcher role. And I’d probably be disappointed if Duffy makes the team and keeps Duran, Smith or Foscue from getting an(other) opportunity on the major league roster.
At some point, you have to find out what you have in these guys. Bench depth can always be added in minor trades and waiver wire pickups if the young guys aren’t up to those roles. But if they are, they save you money and have higher upside in the event of an injury to a key player.
Provided the money is about the same, I think I would prefer Justin Turner over Brandon Belt. Turner is a more consistent hitter, and he can provide more roster flexibility (DH, 3B, 1B, and even 2B in a pinch). Plus, Turner doesn’t have the injury history Belt has had.
Justin Turner or JD Martinez are better fits
I would agree with Justin Turner, but why the heck are we talking about any hitters before Montgomery should get signed???
Arlington Retirement Center
NO