Tag: MLB Trade Rumors

Former Longhorns 1B Brandon Belt reportedly a Texas Rangers target

Former Longhorns baseball player Brandon Belt could be coming back to one MLB team in Texas.

One former Texas Longhorns baseball player might be headed back to his home state. The Texas Rangers have reportedly discussed bringing veteran first baseman Brandon Belt to Arlington, Texas.

The homecoming for Belt should bring a positive reception. The former Longhorns standout earned several honors while in Austin. Among those honors were Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player and All-Big 12 team honorable mention.

While in Austin, Belt batted .321 for his career with a .399 on base percentage. The gifted athlete also posted a 4.19 ERA in one season as a pitcher on the Forty Acres.

The Longhorn legend has continued his strong play even late into his career. Since 2020, Belt ranks No. 5 among current MLB first basemen in on base percentage, No. 6 in slugging percentage, No. 4 in on base plus slugging plus and No. 2 in walk percentage.

Belt played a significant role in Texas’ runner up season in 2009 where the Longhorns fell to the LSU Tigers for a College World Series title. His knack for championship baseball carried over to the major leagues where Belt won World Series titles in 2012 and 2014 with the San Francisco Giants.

The productive player’s former manager Bruce Bochy is likely a leading voice in discussions about bringing Belt back to Texas. He would likely add a clubhouse leader to the fold that Bochy can trust.

Brandon Belt could be coming back to Texas. We will keep an eye on where he lands for the 2024 baseball season.

Nationals’ Juan Soto stunningly rejects record-breaking contract offer, likely to be traded, per report

Soto is reportedly leaving $440 million on the table.

One of the best young players in baseball may be heading elsewhere in the near future.

On Saturday, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that star Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto has rejected what would be a record-breaking 15-year, $440 million contract and is now likely to be traded.

This is a massive departure from what the Nationals expected. On June 1, general manager Mike Rizzo stated that the team had no intentions of trading the 23-year-old and wanted to build the franchise around him. But after Soto rejected a contract that would’ve exceeded the total value of the 12-year, $426.5 million deal that Mike Trout signed with the Angels in 2019, things have changed.

Rosenthal reports that the prevailing sentiment in Washington is that if Soto won’t agree to this deal, he won’t agree to any deal. Unlike previous large contracts the Nationals have handed out, this offer didn’t include any deferred money.

Soto, who made his Major League debut at age 19 in 2018, has been an All-Star selection in each of the past two seasons and made the All-MLB First Team in 2020 and 2021, also earning Silver Slugger Awards in both seasons. He took home the National League batting title in 2020, as well.

He’s played a bit below his usual level in 2022 as he’s currently batting .247, but he still has 19 home runs and 42 RBI on the season. He agreed to a one-year, $17.1 million contract with Washington in March that allowed him to avoid arbitration, but he has two more years of arbitration before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2025.

The Nationals currently have the worst record in baseball at 30-62, and they could look to make the most of a lost season and land future assets for Soto ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline. If they do, a contender could land a game-changing player just in time for a playoff push.

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