Two days into the regular season, only one position player from remains unsigned: designated hitter/first baseman . On Friday, the veteran slugger discu sed his enduring free agency in . According to Belt, he had very few calls with teams this winter that went further than the teams expre sing loose interest. He never got to the point of talking about money with any clubs. Belt suggests that numerous teams considered him a second-choice option if they were unable to land their first choice on a longer-term deal. In the end, he says pretty much every one of those teams got their guy. He could be referring to the Giants, who signed to , or the Mariners, who signed to . Several other teams signed designated hitters to one-year deals this offseason, including the Diamondbacks ( ), the Mets ( ), and the Blue Jays ( ). The Rangers were one team that discu sed signing Belt, but evidently, they never reached the point of making him an offer. That surely has something to do with top prospect earning a spot on the Jam Miller Jersey Opening Day roster, but still, Texas could have considered Belt for the spot that ultimately went to non-roster invitee . Two more teams that seemed like potential fits for Belt also opted to sign veterans on minor league deals instead: the Blue Jays went with , while the Angels added . Although Belt definitely wants to play in 2024 (per ), he told Bunkis that he didnt want to settle for a minor league contract. He made $9.3 million last season, and its safe to say he outperformed the Blue Jays expectations when they offered him that deal. Its reasonable to presume he was hoping for a raise. Instead, he will almost certainly have to settle for a sizeable pay cut, if and when he eventually signs. To that point, Belt mentioned how different his free agent experience was during the 2022-23 offseason. He says it was pretty easy to land a contract because quite a few teams were interested in his services. That couldnt be further from the case this time around. Belt says the whole experience has baffled [him] a little bit, and its not hard to see why. The left-handed hitter is coming off an excellent season with Toronto in which he hit 19 home runs in just 103 games. He also hit 23 doubles and drew 61 walks over 404 plate appearances. Only seven AL batters (min. 400 PA) outproduced his .858 OPS and 138 wRC+. His .336 expected wOBA was more good than great, and hes likely due for some regre sion as he enters his late thirties. Still, plenty of teams would be better off with his experienced lefty bat on their roster. Paul Stramaglia Jersey