1B Belt stays with San Francisco, accepts $18.4M qualifying offer
First baseman Brandon Belt accepted an $18.4 million qualifying offer from the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday rather than pursue bidders as a free agent.
Belt was the only one to accept among the 14 free agents who received the offers from their former clubs on Nov. 7. Belt is 33 and perhaps wary of a free-agent market at first base that includes 2020 NL MVP Freddie Freeman.
Belt hit .274 with a careerhigh 29 home runs and 59 RBIs last season to help the Giants to the best record in baseball, but a thumb injury suffered in the final week of the regular season forced him to miss the postseason.
■ ASTROS: Justin Verlander has agreed to a $25 million, one-year contract with the Houston Astros that includes a conditional $25 million player option for a second season.
Verlander became a free agent after completing a $94 million, three-year contract with the Astros. The 38-yearold right-hander — a two-time Cy Young Award winner and the 2011 AL MVP — played in just one game in the past two seasons.
He made just one start in 2020, pitching six innings on July 24 in a win over Seattle on opening day before being placed on the injured list with a strained right forearm. He attempted a comeback after he was injured, but announced on Sept. 19, 2020 that he needed Tommy John surgery and underwent the procedure on Oct.
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■ GUARDIANS: A new era of big-league baseball in Cleveland is about to start. The Guardians will be off and running.
The Indians will officially transition to Guardians on Friday, completing a name change that has been happening in stages over the past few months.
The team sent out a release Wednesday saying its team shop at Progressive Field will begin selling Guardians merchandise and souvenirs later this week. The store at the team’s downtown ballpark will exclusively sell Guardians gear before caps, jerseys and more become available at retail outlets in northeast Ohio on Nov. 23.
The team said some digital elements will change today before Cleveland’s team website and social media handles transition to Guardians on Friday.