Josh Bell was a second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates and made his Big Leage debut with the club in 2016. Since that time, he has been traded on four different occasions and is now with his sixth major league team.
MLBbro.com reporter Brett Quintyne spoke with the well-traveled hired gun about his latest deadline trade, his mission in Arizona, life goals and the Bros who inspired his MLB journey.
“Another deadline, another trade,” Bell told MLBbro.com as he is used to moving around mid-season. “I’m happy to be on a better team with aspirations of going on to the postseason and doing some damage there,” he added as he looks to be in the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
Josh Bell Is A Rare Switch-Hitter
The number of switch-hitters has decreased over the years and once again that number will be under 10 percent in 2024. It’s always been part of Bell’s game.
“I started switch-hitting as a kid, virtually every at-bat I would go back and forth,” he said as he spoke about his early memories of hitting from both sides of the plate. “As the competition got better, I started matching up lefty righty and have pushed that through to the Big Leagues so I am definitely thankful for it,” Bell said of that skill set.
Josh Bell Had Strong Foundation Of Women Driving HimTo Give Back
“Having support, educated women. When I have questions I feel I can always go to them,” Josh said when asked about his mother and sister being professors at different universities. “As I get older, I wonder if I’m going to go back to college, or what I will do after the game. It’s great to have that family support into my adulthood,” he continued.
“Giving back is important, it helps my game. It makes me realize there is a bigger World out there than just baseball. I’m helping the kids but they are helping me as well,” Bell gushed about the book club he launched in 2020. On a monthly basis, he helps select books that will inspire children to become better individuals.
Even though Texas is known for its high school football, he didn’t participate.
“My dad tore up his knee in college and said if he ever had a son, he’s not going to play football,” Bell gave as his reasoning for not playing on the gridiron. “It was a tough couple of years with the coaches in my ear, but I made the right choice,” he added.
Which MLBbros Inspired Josh Bell?
Away from the diamond he likes college football. “I was committed to play baseball at the University of Texas but my best friend went to Texas A & M, and another good friend went to TCU. If it’s on I’ll watch it.” Bell spoke of rooting for the teams that play in his home state.
And who are the Bros that Josh Bell admired as he was coming up in the game?
“The first guy that comes to mind is Prince Fielder,” he recalled. “Obviously Griffey. Seeing CC Sabathia everywhere. I had the chance to play against Brandon Phillips a couple of times. Those are the ones that stand out for me.”
On Tuesday, the trade deadline came and went with plenty of traffic. Of notable moves was Jazz Chisolm Jr. to the Yankees, Jack ‘Black’ Flaherty to the Dodgers and Josh Bell to the Diamondbacks.
Here are some grades for the teams who traded for the aforementioned players.
The trade: Jazz Chisolm Jr. from the Marlins to the Yankees for prospects Agustin RamÍrez, Jared Serna and Abrahan Ramirez
Trade grade: A
Chisolm couldn’t have had a better start to his Yankee career, making the grade easy to come by. In Chisolm’s first two contests, he hit two homers apiece and added eight total RBI to his numbers.
Before Chisolm’s debut with his new squad, the trade was a low-risk high-reward move from New York. Chisolm still has two years left in arbitration and the Yankees are in win-now mode, lessening the internal value on prospects.
Chisholm is now up to tying his career mark for batting average in a season with .254. He is also tied for his most bases taken in a season, with 23.
At just 22 years old, he provides a significant boost to the Bronx Bombers in what could end up as a career year for him.
For the Marlins, Agustin Ramírez and Jared Serna slot in as the No. 6 and 11 prospects, respectively.
The trade: Josh Bell from the Marlins to the Diamondbacks for cash considerations
Grade: B
As the Diamondbacks attempted to push for the top of the standings, it brought in Josh Bell in a big position of need.
Bell steps in after first baseman Christian Walker was injured and will replace Walker at that position. By just giving up the infamous “cash considerations,” Arizona gets a 1-year rental as Walker is a free agent following the season.
Currently, Bell is batting .239, a slight increase from last year’s total. He also has 14 home runs and can provide power to a Diamondback team that has hit 121 home runs this season — the 13th-best mark in the MLB.
Not much risk in this trade, either.
The move also allows the Diamondbacks to have some depth when Walker returns.
The trade: Jack Flaherty from the Tigers to the Dodgers for prospects Thayron Liranzo and Trey Sweeney
Grade: A
The Dodgers rotation has been demolished by injuries, but now they’ve got some help.
“Black Jack” Flaherty saw the end of 2023 not pan out well as a deadline deal sent him from St. Louis to Baltimore. After the Tigers picked him up in free agency, though, that brother has been rolling.
Through 18 games, Flaherty has notched a 2.95 ERA, priming him for a big contract when he hits free agency following the season. Flaherty’s paycheck will be further validated as he sits at 133 punchouts, the 15th-best mark in the MLB.
For the 1-year rental of Flaherty, the Dodgers were forced to part with Thayron Liranzo and Trey Sweeney, their No. 8 and 22 prospects, respectively. With the year Flaherty is having the haul is more than acceptable.
Now, Flaherty can slot in right behind ace Tyler Glasnow, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw among the many injured Dodger arms.
Aaron Judge reaches the peak of the #HighFive mountaintop for a second straight week after continuing his domination through the month of May. He has already surpassed his home run total for April and is slashing .396/.477/1.000 over his last 15 games
1. Aaron Judge
As I was typing this list Thursday afternoon, to little surprise, Aaron Judge launched another home run, bringing his monthly total to eight.
On the backs of Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto, the Yankees, who hold ownership of the best record in the American League, are looking like the Bronx Bombers of the early 2000’s.
Judge was named the American League Player of the Week and now has hits in 10 of his last 11 games as well as ranking in the top five in the American League for home runs, OPS, Slugging percentage, walks and doubles.
2. Marcus “Stro Show” Stroman
Marcus Stroman added another solid start to his 2024 resume to earn the two spot on Week 8 of our #HighFive list.
It is the second consecutive week Stroman claims the two spot, this time coming after throwing 7.1 innings of one-run baseball where he only gave up three hits and struck out six Seattle Mariners.
His ERA is now at 3.05 and batters are only hitting .226 off of him after 10 starts.
Stroman will take the mound next on Saturday when his Yankees travel across the country to take on the San Diego Padres.
3. “Late Night” LaMonte Wade Jr.
LaMonte Wade continues to be an on base machine for San Francisco as he takes the three spot on our #HighFive List.
Although he is still about two weeks away from reaching the amount of at-bats needed to qualify as a league leader, Wade’s .481 leads the rest of the Majors by a landslide (as of now Mookie Betts leads at .432).
Wednesday night’s matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates was one of if not the best games of Wade’s career.
He recorded three hits and walked three times in the same game, a feat no San Francisco Giant besides Wade himself – who also did it last season and Barry Bonds in his 2001 National League MVP award winning season – have accomplished.
4. Byron Buxton
Byron Buxton returned from injury this week and did major damage for the Twins.
He reached base safely in each of the four games he started in since returning, including a two-homer day in D.C. against the Nationals which helped them snap a seven-game losing streak.
“We knew things had to change,” Buxton told reporters postgame.
“We had to come out with the confidence and energy that we had in the past.”
The Twins will take on the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers for three-games over the weekend.
5. Josh Bell
The Miami Marlins are showing signs of life after a dreadful start to the year, winning seven of their last 10 games.
One player who has helped lead the way is first baseman Josh Bell, who is hitting .310 with seven RBI over his last seven games.
After slashing .167/.234/.275 in April, Bell has improved all of his hitting numbers over the month of May.
Last Friday night with the Marlins trailing by three with one out and two runners on base, Bell launched a game-tying three-run homer over the center field wall. Miami would later go on to win via walk-off.
Just days later, Bell wanted to feel that walk-off feeling for himself, so with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th in Monday night’s game, he shot a game-winning single to right field.
The Marlins will travel to Arizona this weekend to take on last year’s National League Champion D-Backs.
Josh BellMLBbro slugger Josh Bell put together one of his best offensive performances of the season on Saturday, May 18 as the Miami Marlins defeated the New York Mets 10-9 in extra innings.
Bell went 3-for-5 at the plate with four RBI, a home run, and a run scored. His three-run shot in the bottom of the ninth tied the game and gave Miami the chance to win in extras.
“It was nuts,” Bell said of his game-tying three-run homer in the ninth. “Obviously, the fifth, sixth inning rolls around [and] you’re hearing the ‘Let’s go Mets’ chants. I know their fans travel well, but it was nice to hear our fans cheer that whole inning. I kind of blacked out there for a little bit, but I felt like it was the moment to do so. I can’t take that back.”
Josh Bell Delivers For Struggling Miami Marlins
When the game was on the line, Bell stepped up and delivered for his team, something he has done numerous times throughout his career.
The win against the Mets marked the fourth win in a row for Miami.
At the start of the season, the Marlins struggled and were looking to find their identity. And Bell was not having much production at the plate either.
Through April, he hit .167 with three home runs. It was only a matter of time before he would start to find his rhythm at the plate.
“I didn’t think he was going to hit .160 or .170 forever,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “He’s just too good of a player, and [he’s] a switch-hitter, [so] he’s going to be playing every day. It wasn’t like I was going to take him out of games, because he’s good on both sides of the plate. It was just a matter of time, and we needed him to get going because [in] the middle of the order, there’s guys on base in front of him.”
“And he felt it. He took it personally. He wasn’t happy about it. He was staying after games. He was coming really early before everybody was showing up. The guy puts in work, and he doesn’t take a day off ground balls, either. When your best players are going out there early and doing the work, everyone follows. And so Josh is a big deal in that clubhouse, and obviously a big deal for me as a young manager to lean on with different things — not just baseball-related. I felt like he was going to catch fire here pretty soon, and what a big hit tonight.”
Through 59 at-bats during May, Bell is hitting .322 and has a .525 slugging percentage.
When he joined Miami last year, he wasted no time giving the team some production at the plate.
Through 53 games, he hit .270 with 11 home runs and 26 RBI. He also made the most of his appearances in the postseason, appearing in two games and hitting .500 with two doubles and a RBI.
The 31-year-old is a key piece to this Marlins roster and the energy he brings impacts the team on and off the field.
Bell is that veteran player you want to have on your team and he will look to continue to make a positive impact with Miami.
For years the Miami Marlins have struggled to keep a consistent roster together. With a poor record (10-29) to start the season, a playoff run looks highly unlikely this season.
Also, in traditional Marlins’ fashion, the team has already begun to sell off big name players as last week they traded Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres. The fire sale mode of the team could mean that multiple MLBbros could be on the move.
These MLBbros could benefit from a change of scenery and this unstable losing environment.
This MLBbro has spent his entire five-year career with the Marlins, and he has electrified their fans with his flashy style and innovative style.
While ideally Chisholm would be a cornerstone piece for the future of the team, there is no certainty of this. Currently the MLBbro center fielder is batting .236 with five home runs and 20 RBI.
Jazz was an All-Star as recently as 2022 and still provides great speed and versatility, being able to play second base, shortstop, and center field. He is under team control for the next two seasons, so his availability is something to monitor around the league.
When the Miami Marlins acquired Josh Bell last year, he showed surges of power and was supposed to provide the team with a run-producer in the middle of the lineup.
He was much more impressive with them than he was with his previous team the Cleveland Guardians, hitting the same number of homers in 53 games with Miami (11) as he hit in 97 games with the Guardians.
This year has been bad to say the least. He is on pace for the worst statistical season of his career. There are numerous teams who are always willing to take a chance at switch-hitting power. What Bell lacks defensively, he makes up for with his effectiveness as a DH. He can also fill in as a below average first baseman defensively. When he’s rolling he’s a force.
Tim Anderson
Our last MLBbro in this entry has been on the decline for some time.
Signing Tim Anderson made a lot of sense at the time, adding a veteran to a younger team should have yielded dividends. However, Anderson has struggled to hit for power (zero home runs) and average (.203). With him still providing solid defense at shortstop he could possibly end up on a team willing to take a chance on him, especially due to his manageable contract status (one-year $5 million). But this experiment has simply not worked for the Marlins and if given a decent offer for the MLBbro they should readily accept.
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