© Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
With Andrew McCutchen gone, Brandon Belt may be San Francisco’s next best option for a trade that could yield something positive in return.
That’s how San Francisco Chronicle Giants beat writer Henry Schulman feels. On Friday morning, he joined the Murph and Mac Show and talked about the possibility of trading Belt.
“He is the one guy they might trade and get something back for,” Schulman said. “Obviously, (Madison) Bumgarner could get tracked a lot in return. I just don’t think they are going to take that step.”
Belt’s stellar first half has tailspun in the past month’s worth of baseball. His slash line is down to .259/.346.427. He has not hit a homer since July 21. Since that time, he missed 17 games from late July to early August, and he has struggled since returning to the lineup. He is 7-45 in his last 20 games.
But the one-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion likely still has some market value. But Schulman doesn’t predict a trade will come to fruition this season.
“If I had to bet, I’d say Belt would be back only because trades are, you never know what you are going to get when you go out in the market,” Schulman said.
One of the common complaints against Belt is the constant stream of injuries that hamper him. He has missed 31 games this year and made two trips to the disabled list, one for appendicitis and the other for knee soreness.
Schulman does not buy into the “injury prone” tag that some slap on Belt.
“I think it’s outrageous to call him injury prone, no disrespect intended,” Schulman said. “You look at the injuries he’s had over the years. He has had a little bit of a chronic knee problem. He had it scoped in ’15 and he might have it scoped again this year. You can’t call somebody chronically injured when they’re getting hit in the head with baseballs and getting hit in the hands with baseballs, and have appendicitis and this and that. So, the point is the guy is in pretty good shape. He doesn’t miss this because of a pulled this or strained that.”
