San Francisco Giants: Three players most likely to be traded this offseason

1B Brandon Belt

Veteran Brandon Belt is coming off one of the worst years of his career in 2019.

That could lend a bit of credence to all of the Belt-haters who have been demanding he be traded for years and who have often blamed him for the team’s offensive woes.

How bad was it?

Savage, indeed.

The 31-year-old finished the season with a .234/.339/.403 line that included 17 home runs and 57 RBI. He spent much of the season hitting leadoff, which impacted his RBI total, and also speaks to the current state of the lineup.

On the plus side, he stayed healthy enough to play 156 games, the first time he has played more than 112 games since 2016. The belief has long been that if Belt can just stay healthy, he could put up the numbers that fans have always expected of him.

Well, he stayed healthy and sadly he wasn’t able to do that.

His on-base percentage has now decreased every year since 2016, suggesting that he is not hitting or walking as much as he used to, or as well as the Giants would like.

The big dilemma with trading Belt is trying to find a team willing to take on some of the $34.4 million he is owed over the next two years.

That seems unlikely, especially given his steady depreciation in value.

At 31 years old, he’s still capable of being a productive MLB player. The Giants could try to convince a team with a ballpark that is friendlier to left-handed hitters that Belt is still capable of being an impact offensive player.

With Joey Bart rising up the minor league ranks and Buster Posey likely to be shifted over to first base at some point in the future, trading Belt makes sense from a roster standpoint.

It will not be easy, but you have to imagine Belt is someone the front office would not be opposed to trading this offseason.