Cleveland Sports Forum

Guardians signing free-agent 1B/DH Josh Bell to 2-year deal: Source


By Zack Meisel and The Athletic Staff
3m ago

Free-agent first baseman/designated hitter Josh Bell is headed to Cleveland on a two-year contract worth $33 million, a league source confirmed to The Athletic on Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know:

The deal includes an opt-out clause after 2023, the league source said.
Bell slashed .266/.362/.422 with 29 doubles, 17 home runs and 71 RBIs combined for the Nationals and Padres last season.
He was part of the blockbuster trade that sent Juan Soto to San Diego in August.
Bell is a true switch hitter, averaging .262 with 10 home runs from the left side and .276 with seven home runs from the right side.
Scouting report
Bell isn’t the best defensive first baseman, but he put up impressive numbers in Washington before getting sent to San Diego. He was hitting .301 with 14 homers when the Nationals traded him to the Padres, however, he had a difficult time adjusting to his new team, hitting .192 with only three homers in 53 games.



His best season came in 2019 when he earned an invite to the All-Star game and finished the year slashing .277/.367/.569 with 37 home runs and 116 RBIs while playing for the Pirates.

The 30-year-old should be able to bounce back and be a 25-home run-type power hitter next season.

hit 302 with 57 RBI in 104 games and 14 homers 49 walks 61 strikeouts for Washington 301/394/483
hit 192 with 14 RBI in 53 games 3 homers 32 walks 41 K for San Diego 192/316/271

which amazingly worked to an average season for him
career 262/351/459 810
2022 266/362/422 784

Stats as RH or LH are very close to even.

This is what Jim Bowden guessed who would be a good fit for the Guardians.

Cleveland Guardians — 1B/DH Josh Bell (3 years, $39 million)
The Guardians need another power bat, which Bell could provide as a DH/first baseman. Bell reached base at a 36 percent clip with 14 home runs and 71 RBIs in a season split between the Nationals and Padres. He was worth 3.0 bWAR and posted a 128 OPS+. His strong makeup would fit nicely with Cleveland’s young group of up-and-coming players. His switch-hitting ability is another plus.

We go for guys with a "strong makeup" and on base ability. Sounds like a reasonable fit. Not the big slugger that Reyes was when he was hitting but a step or three up from Owen Miller.

Guardians agree to terms with free agent first baseman, DH Josh Bell at winter meetings
Updated: Dec. 06, 2022, 4:19 p.m.|Published: Dec. 06, 2022, 4:18 p.m.


By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com
SAN DIEGO -- The Guardians have come to terms with switch-hitting first baseman Josh Bell on a two-year deal worth a reported $33 million.

Cleveland has been searching for power and production to help its offense, and Bell should help provide that. Just recently Guardians swung and missed at first baseman Jose Abreu, who signed a three-year deal with Houston for an estimated $60 million.

Bell played for Washington and San Diego last season. The Guardians have been looking for a right-handed hitter to help balance their offense. The switch-hitting Bell should help in that regard.


Last season Bell hit .266 with 17 homers and 77 RBI.

One problem solved.

Let's hope his HR pop returns. 17 HRs is great for a 2nd baseman but not for a 1st baseman.

Frees up a couple of players to throw in any deal for Reynolds or a catcher.

Wonder why the opt out after the first year. Must be low balling the first year salary.

Mutual opt out? If either can opt out unilaterally, it's really a one-year deal.

This guy is a Boras client. I would assume this is an actual one year contract.

Sea complains that the Guardians will sign no one. Then complains when they sign the #2 available free agent at their position of need. Must be a low ball offer ? Geez, he agreed to it.

Guardians To Sign Josh Bell
By Steve Adams | December 6, 2022 at 2:50pm CDT

The Guardians have agreed to a two-year, $33MM contract with free-agent first baseman Josh Bell, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Bell, a client of the Boras Corporation, will be able to opt out of the contract after the first season of the deal.

It’s a short-term but lucrative annual deal for Bell, who looked poised for a long-term commitment in free agency before a sluggish finish to the season following a trade to the Padres. Bell opened the season on a tear with the Nationals and maintained that production into late July, but after slashing .301/.384/.493 with the Nats (143 wRC+), Bell hit just .192/.316/.271 in San Diego.

Ups and downs are nothing new for Bell, who has at multiple times in his career appeared on the cusp of solidifying himself as a star-caliber slugger, only to fall into a prolonged slump. Back in the first half of the 2019 season, for instance, the former No. 61 overall draft pick erupted with a .302/.376/.648 batting line and 27 home runs. That netted him what remains the only All-Star nomination of his career, but following the Midsummer Classic, Bell backtracked with a solid but unspectacular .233/.351/.429 slash.

His offensive doldrums spiraled out of control in 2020, when he turned in a career-worst .226/.305/.364 slash in the shortened 2020 season, and the Pirates sold low on the former top prospect by flipping his final two years of club control to the Nationals in exchange for righty Wil Crowe and minor leaguer Eddy Yean. A month into Bell’s Nationals tenure, it looked to be more of the same, but he righted the ship in May and never looked back.

From May 1, 2021 through this year’s trade deadline, Bell came to the plate 945 times and recorded a stout .289/.373./489 slash with 39 big flies, 46 doubles, an 11.5% walk rate and a 15.3% strikeout rate that’s far lower than many would expect from a 6’4″, 255-pound first baseman with 30-homer power.

In spite of that sizable frame and the clear raw power Bell possesses, however, he’s never really been a consistent power threat — at least not to the extent one would expect. The juiced-ball season in 2019 was his lone 30-homer campaign (37, to be exact), and his season-to-season home run totals have otherwise ranged between 12 (2018) and 27 (2021).

It’s hard not to wonder what might happen were Bell to commit to elevating the ball more, but that’s easier said than done for any hitter. Bell’s enormous 49.9% ground-ball rate is far higher than one would expect for a slugger of his stature, and he’s taken that mark north of 50% in each of the past three seasons, topping out with a mammoth 55.7% grounder rate in 2022. Since 2020, only five hitters have put the ball on the ground more frequently than Bell — a confounding trait for a switch-hitter with plus raw power. Three different teams have been unable to coax consistent power production from Bell, but the Guardians will give their best effort to getting him back into form.

To be clear, Bell remains a well above-average hitter in the aggregate, even with the glut of grounders and a career punctuated thus far by peaks and valleys. He’s been 20% better than the average hitter by measure of wRC+, dating back to 2019, and his career mark in that regard sits at 116 (16% better than average). Bell is a lifetime .262/.351/.459 hitter whose only below-average season at the plate came in the shortened 2020 season.

Also appealing to the Guardians was surely the fact that Bell, like so much of their team, is exceedingly difficult to strike out. No team in baseball fanned at a lower clip than the Guardians last year — nor was anyone even close — and Bell struck out at just a 15.8% rate in 2022. He’s kept his strikeout rate at 19% or lower each season other than that grisly 2020 campaign, and he’s also drawn walks in an excellent 11.8% of his 3406 career plate appearances.

All of that aligns well with Cleveland’s general offensive philosophy, and while it seems that Jose Abreu was the Guards’ first choice — Cleveland reportedly made him a three-year offer before he signed in Houston — Bell still adds some needed thump who can slot in at designated hitter and/or first base. Bell isn’t an all-world defender at first, but he’s improved his defensive ratings from sub-par to slightly above average in recent seasons, and the Guardians surely feel confident that he’s a reliable source of at least 15 to 20 homers with a robust on-base percentage. He’ll join Jose Ramirez as a switch-hitting, middle-of-the-order threat, continuing to give the Cleveland lineup plenty of balance.

[Sea complains that the Guardians will sign no one. Then complains when they sign the #2 available free agent at their position of need. Must be a low ball offer ? Geez, he agreed to it.

Finally, some action not just speculation.

The only way they make a move is if Seagull says they won't.

By low-ball I meant .....did they split the 33M over 2 years 16.5M/16.5M or something like 13M/20M

The full Meisel take:

Guardians signing free-agent 1B/DH Josh Bell to 2-year deal

Oct 21, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Josh Bell (24) flips the ball to first for an out in the sixth inning during game three of the NLCS against the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
By Zack Meisel and The Athletic Staff
3h ago


Free-agent first baseman/designated hitter Josh Bell is headed to Cleveland on a two-year contract worth $33 million, a league source confirmed to The Athletic on Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know: 

The deal includes an opt-out clause after 2023, the league source said.
Bell slashed .266/.362/.422 with 29 doubles, 17 home runs and 71 RBIs combined for the Nationals and Padres last season.
He was part of the blockbuster trade that sent Juan Soto to San Diego in August. 
Bell is a true switch hitter, averaging .262 with 10 home runs from the left side and .276 with seven home runs from the right side.

Scouting report

Bell isn’t the best defensive first baseman, but he put up impressive numbers in Washington before getting sent to San Diego. He was hitting .301 with 14 homers when the Nationals traded him to the Padres, however, he had a difficult time adjusting to his new team, hitting .192 with only three homers in 53 games.

His best season came in 2019 when he slashed .277/.367/.569 with 37 home runs and 116 RBIs while playing for the Pirates.

The 30-year-old should be able to bounce back and be a 25-home run-type power hitter next season.
How Bell fits with the Guardians

The Guardians needed someone to fill the vacancy left by Franmil Reyes’ rapid downfall last season. Bell is a switch-hitter without a profound contrast in splits against lefties and righties. That should help a Cleveland lineup that struggled immensely against southpaws in 2022, especially first baseman Josh Naylor (.512 OPS).

Bell owns a career .262/.351/.459 slash line overall, but he fits with the Guardians’ offensive approach, as he has historically racked up a ton of walks but has avoided uncomfortable strikeout rates. Cleveland led the league in contact rate and strikeout rate in 2022. Bell topped out at 37 home runs in 2019, his lone All-Star season, when he posted a .936 OPS. Last season, he delivered a .301/.384/.493 slash line for the Nationals before they traded him to San Diego, where he struggled to a .587 OPS. — Meisel
Evaluating the terms of the deal

The annual average value of the deal, $16.5 million, is the second-largest the organization has ever handed out, falling just shy of the $20 million per year the team guaranteed Edwin Encarnación after the 2016 season. Bell can opt out of the deal after the 2023 season; it’s the first time they have granted a free agent an opt-out clause. — Meisel
Other offseason priorities for Cleveland

This checks off one of two primary goals for the Guardians this offseason. Now, they’ll attempt to address their catching situation. They’ve talked with the Athletics about Sean Murphy since the summer. They’re seeking an established option who can ease the burden on top-100 prospect Bo Naylor, the heir apparent at the position. They have a wealth of prospects from which to trade. — Meisel

Guardians Prospective
@CleGuardPro
·
3h
Murphy price might be getting too steep with more potential teams looking to deal for him. #Guardians not looking to deal Espino, Williams or Bibee. Vasquez move possibly more likely and makes to a bit easier to move on from Murphy with Bell now signed to bolster lineup.

IF it were me I would move Espino in a minute. At least out of those 3.

The kid was injured most of the season and Gavin Williams has kind of passed him up.

But no matter - Sean Murphy is exactly the stud catcher they need.

Why the Cleveland Guardians signed Josh Bell and where they go from here


Oct 19, 2022; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres designated hitter Josh Bell (24) hits a home run in second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during game two of the NLCS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
By Zack Meisel
18m ago

SAN DIEGO — Since July, when the Guardians realized Franmil Reyes’ tenure with the organization was headed for an abrupt divorce, Cleveland’s front office has identified first base/designated hitter as a position of need.

The Guardians surveyed the trade market over the summer, and when the offseason arrived, they targeted José Abreu and Josh Bell, a pair of free agents with sturdy track records. They are very familiar with Abreu, who has tormented their pitchers for nearly a decade. They charged after him first, making what those in the organization felt was an aggressive offer, but Abreu opted to sign with the reigning champion Astros for $58 million over three years.

If Cleveland couldn’t ink Bell to a deal, the club was ready to pivot to internal options, which could have resulted in more of a DH rotation. The trade market didn’t present much that would move the needle, according to those with knowledge of the team’s approach to the offseason.

The Guardians landed Bell, though, on a two-year, $33 million deal that includes an opt-out clause after the 2023 season, according to multiple major-league sources, who were granted anonymity because the deal has yet to be finalized. Bell will earn $16.5 million next season, which will make him the highest-paid player on the team. If he flounders in 2023, he can earn another $16.5 million in 2024. If he thrives, he can elect free agency. In that event, Cleveland would likely make him a qualifying offer, which would net the organization a draft pick if he departs. It’s a relatively low-risk investment for a team that lacks cumbersome financial commitments and is intent on contending.

Bell’s bat fits Cleveland’s lineup well. He’s a switch hitter who has demonstrated an ability to deliver against lefties and righties. The Guardians ranked 27th in the majors with an 84 wRC+ against lefties (meaning they produced at a rate 16 percent below league average). Their designated hitters ranked last in the majors with a 68 wRC+. Bell can help to shore up both deficiencies.

Bell, who turned 30 in August, is a first baseman by trade. He and Josh Naylor can cover the first and DH spots, though manager Terry Francona revealed Tuesday he plans to talk to Naylor about reincorporating corner outfield into his repertoire. Naylor had a dreadful season against lefties in 2022 (.512 OPS), so Bell’s presence could afford Francona opportunities to shield Naylor from tough southpaws and allow the club to not lean so heavily on Owen Miller in the meat of the order.

“(To add) some thump against some lefties in the middle (of the lineup) that maybe we were lacking at times,” Francona said, “that’s something that’s definitely on our radar.”

FanGraphs’ Steamer projection system forecasts a 123 wRC+ for Bell next season. That matches what he registered in 2022, when he recorded a sterling first half for the Nationals before he was dealt to San Diego, where he sputtered to the finish line. In all, he logged a .266/.362/.422 slash line. His most prolific season came in 2019, when he posted a .277/.367/.569 slash line with 37 home runs and garnered his first All-Star selection.

Bell with Washington in 2022: .301/.384/.493 slash line
Bell with San Diego in 2022: .192/.316/.271 slash line
Bell’s career numbers: .262/.351/.459 slash line

Bell would seem to be a fit for the Chris Valaika Hitting School. The first-year hitting coach’s curriculum helped transform the Guardians into the league’s most contact-oriented outfit. Bell boasts a healthy walk rate, which ranked in the 93rd percentile in the league last season. He also trimmed his strikeout rate, dropping an already tolerable mark to 15.8 percent.

He has, historically, hit the ball hard with regularity, which usually translates into extra-base hits and power. That vanished in the second half last season, though, with his average exit velocity plummeting and his ground-ball rate spiking in September. That late-summer performance hampered his free-agent market a bit.

Bell’s signing, which will become official once he passes a physical, leaves catcher as the next item on the club’s winter checklist. The Guardians have their hands in both the trade and free agent realms. One industry source suggested the club has made some progress this week in reaching a resolution on that front. Oakland’s Sean Murphy is the kid at the popular table on the trade market, but free agents Willson Contreras and Christian Vázquez have each drawn interest from a number of suitors.

“When the season starts, we will have a catcher catching,” Francona said, smiling. “I promise you.”