SF Giants: Who Will Be Their Starting First Baseman in 2022?

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SF Giants first baseman Brandon Belt could be on the move this offseason to a team like the TB Rays. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Who will be the SF Giants first baseman in 2022?

2. Brandon Belt

The Baby Giraffe returns. It is not entirely out of the realm of possibility that we see Brandon Belt return to the Giants in 2022. Is it likely? Probably not, but it is not impossible. So what would it take for Belt to end up on the Giants in 2022?

Belt would need to have a really good 2021, basically, he would have to post the kind of numbers he did in the shortened 2020 season over the course of a full one. Last year he hit .309/.425/.591 with 9 home runs and 30 RBI.

This was a vast improvement over his previous three seasons in which injuries likely played a role in limiting his productivity. If Belt could stay relatively healthy this year and hit similar to how he did last year, that could make the Giants think about bringing him back.

The previous slide made clear that there is no obvious replacement to Belt within the organization, so the team may want to sign him to a one or two-year deal so they aren’t having to throw together a patchwork at first base next season.

Of course, Belt may be looking for a longer-term deal which could complicate things especially if the Giants make a run at one of the premier shortstops on the market.

So it is not super likely that Belt will be back playing his home games in San Francisco next year, but we cannot entirely rule out the possibility that the Baby Giraffe could return to don his long neck once more.