Report: Giants make Belt available, several teams interested
The San Francisco Giants are making another one of their core players available in trade.
After rumors surfaced two weeks ago that the Giants were willing to trade ace Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco has also made first baseman Brandon Belt available, according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports, who reports several teams have expressed interest.
With new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi at the helm, the Giants might be looking to move on from an aging and expensive roster.
| PLAYER | AGE | 2019 SALARY |
|---|---|---|
| Buster Posey | 31 | $21.4M |
| Johnny Cueto | 32 | $21M |
| Mark Melancon | 33 | $14M |
| Jeff Samardzija | 33 | $18M |
| Brandon Belt | 30 | $16M |
| Brandon Crawford | 31 | $15M |
| Evan Longoria | 33 | $14.5M |
Belt has spent his entire career with the Giants and is signed through the 2021 season at $17.2 million annually when factoring in his signing bonus.
The one-time All-Star may be tricky to deal, however, because of his injury history, which has restricted him from playing a full season the past two years.
When healthy, Belt has been a productive first baseman, hitting .266/.356/.455 with 112 home runs and 415 RBIs for his career despite playing half of his games at pitcher-friendly AT&T Park.