MLB Rumors: San Francisco Giants and Brandon Belt agree to five-year extension

The San Francisco Giants and Brandon Belt have reportedly agreed to a five-year extension. 

One of the reasons that the San Francisco Giants have had success in recent years is due to the consistent play and clutch hitting of first baseman Brandon Belt. It took a while for Belt to be fully trusted by manager Bruce Bochy, but since Belt gained his trust, he has emerged as one of their most important players.

He will be sticking around in San Francisco for a while as the Giants and Belt have reportedly agreed on a five-year extension. Belt was scheduled to be a free agent after the 2017 season.

From CSN Bay Area:

"Financial details were not immediately available, but per sources, Belt’s deal is similar to Brandon Crawford’s six-year, $75 million deal, but expected to be slightly bigger. As talks approached the finish line, the two sides were said to be discussing an average annual value of about $16 million per year from 2017 on, with an expected tweak to his current one-year deal for 2016."

Staying healthy has always been an issue for Brandon Belt. However, when healthy, the 28-year-old first baseman has been a steady force in their lineup and has helped balance it with his strong lefty bat. Belt has a career .271 batting average with an on base percentage of .348 and a slugging percentage of .455, good for an OPS of .803. The Giants first baseman also has 63 career home runs in 561 games, an average of 18 home runs per 162 games. That’s impressive considering he plays half of his games at AT&T Park.

Brandon Belt is coming of a career year in 2015 during which he set career highs in home runs (18), RBI (68), and walks (56).

Belt finished his 2015 season with a .280 batting average with an OPS of .834.

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