UPDATE:
#SFGiants and first baseman @bbelt9 have reached an agreement on a six-year contract through 2021 pic.twitter.com/KFGZMmtIeC
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) April 9, 2016
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Following a ton of offseason rumors regarding first baseman Brandon Belt's long-term status with the San Francisco Giants, the two sides have finally reportedly agreed to a five-year contract extension.
Belt and the Giants avoided arbitration this offseason with a one-year, $6.2 million deal, and now it appears as if the new contract will buy out his final year of arbitration scheduled for next offseason.
Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area reported late last night that sources said Belt agreed to a five-year extension, and while financial details still aren't available, it's said to be similar to the five-year, $75 million contract Brandon Crawford signed earlier this offseason.
"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," Pavlovic wrote.
MLB Network's Jon Heyman says that there are no options in the deal.
Despite questions about Belt's ability to remain healthy (he's played in just 198 games over the past two seasons), the Giants obviously view him as an integral part of their core, as he's a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman and an emerging power hitter. The soon-to-be 28-year-old hit .280/.356/.478 with 73 runs scored, 18 home runs and 68 RBI in 137 games last year.
The agreement likely took a while because the Giants needed to figure out a way to fit Belt into their crowded financial situation for the foreseeable future, especially after the first baseman wanted to be guaranteed enough years to remain with the team's homegrown core (Crawford, Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner, etc.).
San Francisco selected Belt in the fifth round of the 2009 MLB Draft out of the University of Texas at Austin. Similarly, Posey was taken fifth overall in the 2008 draft, Crawford was taken in the fourth round of the 2008 draft, and Bumgarner was the 10th pick of the 2007 draft. Fellow infielders Joe Panik (first round of 2011 draft) and Matt Duffy (18th round of 2012 draft) make up the tail end of the team's core.
Stay tuned for a confirmation from the Giants on Belt's deal, which is expected to come on Saturday.
