SF Giants: Brandon Belt to undergo season-ending knee surgery
The SF Giants will be without first baseman Brandon Belt for the remainder of the 2022 season following the veteran’s decision to undergo season-ending knee surgery, according to a report by Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Belt told Pavlovic that he hopes to continue his playing career beyond this season but will have to see how his knee recovers. Belt underwent the same procedure in 2015.
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Even if Belt had avoided surgery, it was unlikely that he would return to the Giants lineup this season. Nevertheless, his injury eliminates a potential big late-season addition to the lineup as the struggling Giants try to keep their minuscule postseason chances alive.
Belt was one of the best hitters in MLB as recently as last season, hitting a career-high 29 homers alongside an excellent .274/.378/.597 triple-slash in 97 games. This year, however, Belt was never able to get going, dealing with nagging injuries all season long. In the end, he managed just 8 homers this year with a far less impressive .213/.326/.350 line.
If this is the end of the road for Belt, it will mark the end of a fantastic career in San Francisco. Belt has been a key part of the Giants lineup for over a decade now, amassing 175 home runs in 1,310 games with a .261/.356/.458 triple-slash that was 23% better than league average production over the span of his career, per OPS+. The #BeltWars dominated fan debates for years, but Belt’s steadfast presence in the middle of San Francisco’s lineup quelled those criticisms over the last few years. While Belt did not amass the numbers to be a Hall of Famer, he’s one of the defining Giants of the 2010s.
Hopefully, any thoughts of his career coming to a close are premature, and Belt is able to return to the field and find his old form. He will be a free agent this offseason but could easily wait until next year to make a decision about his future. Given his struggles this season, it would not be surprising to see him re-sign with the Giants on an incentive-laden one-year deal next spring if he opts to give it one more go.
