When a team rebuilds and brings in many younger players, it needs a veteran presence to steady the clubhouse and show rookies and pre-arbitration players the ropes on being big leaguers.
The Minnesota Twins already had a great example in Byron Buxton, who is devoted to the franchise and insistent on continuing a legacy set by those who came before him. But the Twins added another player of that ilk last offseason, inking first baseman Josh Bell to a one-year, $7 million deal in December.
Josh Bell Ages Like Fine Win With Minnesota Twins
And aside from being the oldest position player on the roster, Bell has been productive as Minnesota’s primary designated hitter and sporadically playing first. During his 11th MLB season, Bell is slashing .255/.318/.421 with 17 homers, 27 doubles, and 83 runs driven in. He’s posted a 107 OPS+, his third straight season as an above-average hitter on the other side of 30, something he has done in every year of his career despite the shortened 2020 campaign.
Hitting in the middle of Minnesota’s lineup, Bell has been a key cog for the squad that ranks seventh in team wRC+ (104). The experienced switch-hitter still has solid bat speed and bat-to-ball ability, and remains slightly ahead of the curve on catching barrels and hitting the ball hard.
The Twins are Bell’s seventh organization, as he’s carved out a nice career since being selected in the second round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011. After hitting .548 in his senior season at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, Bell bypassed his collegiate commitment to the University of Texas at Austin to sign with the Pirates.
He spent longer than expected in the minor leagues after missing nearly all of the 2012 season, suffering a partial tear in his meniscus. But when he was healthy, Bell hit at an elite level, peaking as the No. 3 player in the Pirates system and the No. 34 prospect overall. And with Pittsburgh having great outfield depth during the mid-2010s, the organization shifted Bell from a corner outfielder to first base.
Josh Bell Has Been A Respected Hired Gun
Finally debuting in 2016, Bell lived a dream during his first MLB game, pinch-hitting and crushing a grand slam in his second career at-bat. Because he only played 45 games that season, Bell still qualified as a first-year player in 2017, when he set the rookie switch-hitter record with 26 dingers and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting. His best season in the majors was 2019, after Bell clubbed 37 home runs and drove in 119 runs, earning his lone All-Star nod.
Traded to the Nationals after the 2020 season, Bell has previous experience playing for a team with tempered expectations. He was also part of the 2022 Padres that made it to the NLCS, notching a Silver Slugger that year after posting a 127 OPS+. Now at 34 years old, Bell has shown he still has more in the tank, providing a solid bat for a Minnesota squad that is still in the thick of the American League playoff hunt.
