Belt staying with Giants, accepts $18.4M offer

NEW YORK — First baseman Brandon Belt accepted an $18.4 million qualifying offer from the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday rather than pursue bidders as a free agent.

Belt was the only one to accept among the 14 free agents who received the offers from their former clubs on Nov. 7.

Players who turned down offers included first baseman Freddie Freeman (Atlanta Braves), shortstop Carlos Correa and right-hander Justin Verlander (Houston Astros), right-hander Raisel Iglesias (Los Angeles Angels), left-hander Robbie Ray and second baseman/shortstop Marcus Semien (Toronto Blue Jays), outfielder Nick Castellanos (Cincinnati Reds), shortstop Trevor Story (Colorado Rockies), shortstop Corey Seager and infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor (Los Angeles Dodgers) and outfielder Michael Conforto (New York Mets).

Shortly after the deadline, Verlander agreed to a one-year, $25 million deal that includes a player option for a second season, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Two of the players who received offers have finalized contracts with new teams. Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez left Boston for a $77 million, five-year contract with the Detroit Tigers, and right-hander Noah Syndergaard left the Mets for a $21 million, one-year contract with the Angels.

Belt, 33, hit a career-best 29 home runs last season and hit .274 with 59 RBIs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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