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The Giants have announced that an x-ray revealed a fractured left thumb of first baseman Brandon Belt, as reported by several reporters, including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. The belt was hit in the thumb by a pitch in yesterday’s game and was removed shortly thereafter. The expected recovery timeline is still unknown at this time, as Belt is still planning further meetings with doctors, for Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com. However, for comparison, the two JT Realmuto and Joey votto suffered a broken thumb earlier this year and missed about a month before returning to action.
It’s terrible timing for Belt and the Giants, both because the playoffs start in a week and because Belt has been on such a tear lately. Since returning from a knee injury on August 5, Belt’s slash line has been an absurd .297 / .394 / .690, hitting 18 home runs in that stretch. This production is 83% better than the league average, according to wRC +. After three consecutive years of production delays from 2017 to 2019, Belt has essentially been on fire for the past two years. Since the start of the 2020 season, in 148 games, his line is .285 / .393 / .595. His wRC + of 163 at that time is the third best in the majors among those with at least 550 plate appearances, behind only Juan soto and Bryce harper.
As for the team, they are already assured of a place in the playoffs, but what type remains to be determined. They are currently two games ahead of the Dodgers for the NL West lead, with each team having six games to play. In the absence of Belt, they will likely turn to Wilmer Flores and LaMonte Wade Jr., who have each seen some time at first base this year. In its reputation could be an option on the road, but he was just placed on the IL on Thursday with an oblique injury. Those three all have good numbers this year, but losing Belt’s mighty bat is certainly a blow to offense, as it would be for any team.
It’s also an unfortunate time for Belt, from a career perspective, as he heads to free agency in just over a month. This injury could rob him of the opportunity to add to his playoff roster, which already includes a pair of World Series titles with the Giants in 2012 and 2014. Although, based on the incredible numbers he has racked up over the past two seasons, he’s still expected to garner a lot of interest in the open market, even though he’s not in a position to make another appearance this year.
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