San Francisco Giants Sign Crawford and Belt

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The San Francisco Giants were able to avoid arbitration and resign two of their homegrown, everyday players: Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt.

Last week, San Francisco reached a deal with shortstop Brandon Crawford to a one-year, $3.175 million contract for 2015. Crawford and the Giants overcame a gap in their discussions by meeting halfway. The $3.175 million represents the median of the Giants’ $2.4 million offer and Crawford’s $3.95 million request, which is a fairly significant jump from the $560,000 that he earned in 2014.

Crawford’s role is to play as one of the best defensive shortstops in the league. His statistical season consisted of hitting .246 with career highs in on-base percentage (.324), slugging percentage (.389) and OPS+ (104).

The second player the Giants have come to an agreement with was first baseman Brandon Belt. The Giants used similar tactics that they used with the Crawford, agreeing to a one-year, $3.6 million contract for 2015, a tad less than the median of Belt’s $4.5 million request and the Giants’ $3 million offer.

In an injury-riddled season, Belt struggled to stay healthy, which resulted in a drop of production. Belt’s season is below average compared to the typical first baseman. In 2014, Belt hit only.243 with a slugging percentage of .306. One positive that can be taken away from Belt’s season is that he hit 12 home-runs in 61 games, where in 2013 Belt had 17 in 150 games.

It seems that the World Champs aren’t trying to get too ‘cute’ with roster changes and keep the team chemistry as strong as possible. The Giants may still be looking for outfield help as the offseason continues.

*OPS+ is OPS(On Base Percentage Slugging) adjusted for the park and the league in which the player played, but not for fielding position. An OPS+ of 100 is defined to be the league average. (Via Baseball Reference).