Nationals first baseman Josh Bell is among the likeliest trade candidates on the market, and the Astros are among the teams interested in adding the slugger to their lineup, SNY’s Andy Martino tweets. The Mets are also said to have interest in Bell, who figures to appeal to just about any team in need of an offensive upgrade.
The 29-year-old Bell (30 next month) has been a force in Washington’s lineup for the past two seasons, coming over from the Pirates in a trade that sent Wil Crowe and minor league righty Eddy Yean to Pittsburgh in return. After an awful first month in D.C. last season, the switch-hitting Bell picked up the pace and hasn’t really slowed down. Since May 1, 2021 — a span of 902 plate appearances — Bell is hitting .293/.376/.503 with 38 long balls, 43 doubles and four triples.
Bell achieves that production with a combination of strong plate discipline and far better bat-to-ball skills than one might expect from a burly 6’4″, 255-pound slugger. He’s walked at an impressive 11.2% clip over that stretch of 902 trips to the plate and struck out in just 15.2% of them (including just 13.5% this season). Bell makes consistently strong contact (45.5% hard-hit rate, 91.1 mph average exit velocity), and although he puts the ball on the ground more than is ideal for someone with his power (51.3% ground-ball rate), he’s adept at spraying line drives. Also, while only 28.2% of Bell’s batted balls during this run have been classified as fly-balls, more than one in five of those flies (20.5%) has left the yard.
Bell once graded as a poor defender at first base but has improved his ratings in recent years. Public metrics like Defensive Runs Saved (+3) and Outs Above Average (+1) feel he’s been a solid option at the position this season — a far cry from early in his career when he was turning in full-season marks of -7 and -8. That defensive improvement is surely key for the Astros, who would have to play Bell at first base with a good deal of frequency given the presence of Yordan Alvarez at designated hitter. Alvarez is capable of playing left field and may do so more often with Michael Brantley out indefinitely due to a shoulder injury, but if the team ends up back at full strength, either Alvarez or Brantley would require some extra reps in the DH slot.
That scenario would likely push Astros stalwart Yuli Gurriel into a part-time role, which may be a bitter pill for both Gurriel and the organization to swallow. However, the 38-year-old Gurriel hasn’t performed up to his previous standards, hitting at a .235/.286/.386 clip through 329 plate appearances. He’s still making loads of contact (13.4% strikeout rate), but his walk rate, power output and batted-ball quality have all declined. Gurriel is popping the ball up to the infield at a higher rate than ever before and is sporting a career-low 17.9% line-drive rate. A Gold Glove winner at first base just last season, Gurriel has also posted negative marks in both DRS (-2) and OAA (-5).
Gurriel is still hitting lefties at a respectable .258/.298/.443 clip (110 wRC+), and he’s a fixture in the Houston clubhouse, so it stands to reason that he’d stick on the roster and be relied upon in a part-time role even if the Astros were to acquire Bell or another first base upgrade. It’s also worth pointing out that Gurriel has shown some signs of life after an awful run in April and May; dating back to June 1, he’s batted .255/.318/.418 in 154 plate appearances. That’s still a far cry from both his typical production and the numbers Bell has posted over the past couple seasons, however.
Bell is earning $10MM this season and will be a free agent at season’s end. The Astros’ $174MM payroll is down notably from last season’s franchise-record $188MM mark, and they’re more than $30MM shy of the new $230MM luxury-tax barrier. As such, there shouldn’t be any financial roadblocks to stand in the way of a deal if the two parties can agree on the young talent that would need to go back to Washington in return.
It might be time to move on from the concept of Yuli being a starter.
If Houston is able to add Josh Bell and an offensive catcher like Contreras, they will have to be the favorites to win it all. Lance McCullers is coming back soon, so they really don’t need to add any pitching as Odorizzi would go the bullpen and help them strengthen that as well. I also expect Altuve, Tucker and others to start hitting more themselves.
While I’m not an Astros fan, I’d love to see both Dusty and Houston win a title so we don’t have to hear about the cheating and the asterisk any more. Let’s face it; they are a very talented team and have a really good chance of winning it all this season with the pitching they have received.
You are correct, they have a talented team, but I have developed an aversion toward the Astros. Not sure if it came from the “cheating” accusation, or that Dusty rubs me the wrong way. As a child I really like the Houston Colt 45’s. Maybe it was when they moved to the AL I just can’t get on board with the Astros. I hope Bell goes elsewhere.
It might be time to move on from Yuli in general.
I like Josh & Last Year I liked Joc
He’d be perfect in Houston and likely not cost too much as he’s a rental. Can’t have Yuli and Maldonado in the same lineup and expect a ring. Maldonado is not going anywhere due to his defense.
Ah, and you think that the Nat’s are just going to give him away because “he’s a rental”? If Houston does acquire him they in all likelihood will try and sign him to be their first baseman longer term. Not every team will view him strictly as a rental.
The Nat’s will ask for talent and move him based on what team offers the most.
Did I say they were going to give him away? I just said he won’t cost as much as many of the players the Astros have gotten across the previous 5-6 seasons due to them typically not being rentals. They very rarely trade for rentals.
I would have never guessed Gurriel was that old.
Yeah, he came over to the MLB from Cuba along with his brother in 2016. Didn’t get started until he was 32.
And Gurriel had 6 hits tonight, maybe the oldest ever to do so?
That was Lourdes Gurriel who had 6 hits, not Yuli.
I’m really impressed at Bell’s .293 AVG given his goofy, violent swing.
Bell doesn’t hit lefties that well so a natural Bell/Gurriel platoon would work out fine for the Astros
I may be misremembering and I haven’t seen him this season, but as I recall Bell’s issues hitting lefties was more about lack of power than lower average. He could hit them OK, but nearly all of his homers came left-handed.
I remember that slump that came after his stellar start here a few years back. You know, I think he’s a decent player but that period was probably closer to the kind of hitter he was than the the guy who hit 27 homers before the all star break
I remember a lot of bad swings against lefties. I remember him really being a liability at 1st base
Given his value, I’m taking it he’s improved?
Bell has almost no platoon split over the past two seasons but has hit lefties (very) slightly better than righties — and walked more often against lefties than he’s punched out.
Historically, Gurriel is a better hitter against left-handers than Bell, but the 2022 version of Bell is better than the 2022 version of Gurriel in pretty much every facet. Platooning Bell with Gurriel would only detract from Bell’s value.
Great writing.
He literally is one of the most balanced switch hitters in baseball, Like within a couple points of each other in terms of his splits.
vs RHP 317/398/500 for a sOPS+ 155
vs LHP 301/378/512 for a sOPS+ 148
Your comment was a totally blind shot in the dark or a poor attempt at satire.. A couple recommendations to better the quality of your life and to possibly steer you away from harm’s way…
One, don’t make statements unless you’ve done the research, some people might believe you know what you’re talking about.
Two, if you were basing that on your instincts, don’t trust them anymore… at all… I mean never… Always assume the worst you’ll be less disappointed.
Three, for the sake of your loved ones at least, please invest in a football helmet and a bodysuit made of bubble wrap to protect you in the future. May you avoid open windows, busy streets, and heavily wooded nature trails in National Parks.
I have a question. Do you normally find that acting like a know it all, lecturing and giving unwanted and unneeded advice, and being an all around annoying twit makes people like you? It is entirely possible to point out what someone got wrong without writing a book filled with insults and BS.
My apologies for not doing my homework. Dareth i never do so again. Now go back to jerking off to pictures of your mom
Literally as opposed to figuratively right?
Thank God We Aren’t Angels. Oh stuff it, buddy. Talk about an overreact. That’s a whole lot of self-righteousness for such a simple mistake everyone has made at least at some point in their life. I’m sure there is somewhere in your RL you can take your attention seeking ways.
@ThankGodWeArentAngels That was a rather verbose and meandering screed in the place of what should have been a standard-issue rebuttal to the OP’s dunce-like analysis. But the joke is ultimately on me who will not ever get back the precious minutes wasted reading and responding to piss poor posts. M’s game in 45 mins, gotta go get amped up.
Sorry that Ms game didn’t go so well for you
Ahh, seems like it was yesterday when Washington signed Bell prior to the ’21 season. Some Pirates fans galore came on this board and said he had no future, made him out to be a chump on offense, and said he had laughable defensive skills. Kudos to Bell for proving ’em all (and me) wrong. Dude has been a solid part of the local DC community, too. Best of luck to you, Josh. You’ve paid your dues playing on alot of bad, sad sack teams in your career. Hope you go on to win a ring somewhere, you deserve it.
I never thought he was a chump, but the dude had Mount Everest high peaks and Grand Canyon low valleys with the Pirates. If he could just have consistency, the Pirates likely could have gotten more back, even with his terrible 1B defense.
I’m happy for Bell that he got back on track. He was as streaky as can be as a Pirate and while it wasn’t for lack of effort his fielding was often horrendous. The change of scenery has worked well for him, and the Pirates did OK in that deal too: Wil Crowe has become a solid reliever, plus they got a lottery card prospect too.
I feel like that was the ‘worst’ trade of the rebuild. Maybe we could have gotten a little more, but it is what it is now. I think if you told me back when we made this trade that Crowe was going to be a quality set-up man, I would’ve taken that. Bell was frustarting to watch, at least to me. Sometimes he’d go on stretches where he looked like an MVP candidate and other times it looked like he needed sent back down to Triple-A. What made it even harder was he couldn’t make even the simple plays at first base.
Thinking the Mets will try for Bell; however, the asking price for an inter-division trade will be too high. Also, put to bed the notion that they’ll give up their top 3-4 prospects for Soto when they have the best chance to sign him in 2 years when Scherzer (among others) is off the books. The Mets will keep their true talent at the deadline, trade a few lesser prospects to fill DH and RP, and then backfill what they trade away with what MLB Pipeline ranked the #1 draft haul from Day 1 of this year’s draft.
There is no way to grade any draft until years later. Their grades mean nothing immediately following the MLB draft.
Sorry your team didn’t make the list!
That literally has nothing to do with my comment. Prospects flame out all the time. You can grade a baseball draft until many years later. I’ve seen my team have what were thought to be great drafts and they don’t get any meaningful players. Seen years where they picked at the end and have had multiple big leaguers.
In 2025 the only Mets getting salaries are Lindor, Marte, Bobby Bonilla and Bret Saberhagen.
Of course they were ranked #1…. They had two picks in the top 15.
From the outside looking in, it seems like the Mets should be all in on Contreras and Wisdom from Chicago.
I admittedly do not love Contreras behind the plate but it doesn’t matter who receives scherzer and degrom. The Mets appear to be getting very little offense from DH, so Contreras can get more abs there, very little out of third base, wisdom despite his flaws can be value there and there offense is below league average against south paws, both Contreras and Wisdom can provide value in that area.
I don’t think the Cubs are getting “best catcher in the game” type return for Contreras. I think most good teams have their battery mates and are not going to move from them. I rank the Astros odds of moving on Maldonado at less than 5%. Contreras value is going to be evaluated on the teams need for a catcher less than their need for a DH.
With that said, I think Contreras and Wisdom would be about the same cost prospect wise as trying to pry Bell from within the division.
Gotta put that low strikeout rate into proper context.
What hurts the team more: a batter striking out with less than two outs and runners on at least first, or a batter grounding into a double play?
GiDP will usually kill you. K’ing usually won’t.
That context can change depending on the situation. A batter who strikes out with a runner on third and less than 2 outs is just as bad.
@DonOsbourne: Obviously. And that’s my obvious point. Everything’s about context, not about predictive variables.
And, besides, “gdp” IS an official, readily-reported stat. Is “K with runner on 3rd with less than two outs”?!
There is a reason teams value high contact hitters over high K hitters with everything else being relatively equal. Yes, DPs happen more often with contact hitters but that’s the only negative. Nothing good can come from swinging and missing but making contact, even if it results in an out, can be productive.
In my unprofessional opinion, I feel that Bell will end up with NYM. Astros aren’t the type of team to just go “F-it, let’s just go for it”, but could totally see the Mets doing it The Astros could also see Yanier Diaz as a potential option at first base in September. If Diaz is slated for catcher long term, maybe the Astros go out and look for a first baseman with control beyond this year like Christian Walker. The Astros also probably feel a lot less pressure to make a move, at least at the moment. Even with Seattle’s big winning streak, the ‘Stros are still 10 games ahead of them. Ovbisously things could easily change by the trade deadline and the M’s could significantly close the gap if they continue into the second half blazing hot, but they have more wiggle room than the Mets. Mets have just 2.5 game lead on the Braves. If they come out and lose their first two games and the Braves win their first two, that 2.5 game lead becomes a half game lead.
Actually Bell is the type of move the Stros may make. Won’t cost much in terms of prospects as he has an expiring contract. Stros have made plenty of moves at the deadline when their farm system was in better shape – Cole, Verlander and Grienke are previous examples. Right now the types of moves they will make are similar to last year when they traded for Kendall Graveman and Phil Maton – either expiring contracts or guys still on arbitration years who can be had for 1 or 2 major league ready prospects ( not necessarily high ceiling, but major league ready). Bell fits in the latter Graveman typecategory, not a superstar.
While true, Graveman is a reliever while Bell is a starting first baseman. If they make a “Let’s just do it” kind of trade, its been for pitchers with at least one more year left on their contract after the trade. Personally, I think Christian Walker fits much better, but that’s just me.
Cole was a trade during the off-season, not at the deadline. Verlander was acquired at the waiver deadline (August 31st), which is no longer an option.
The Astros are absolutely the type of team that says “F it, let’s go for it.” In season deals have brought them Verlander, Greinke, Gomez, Presley, Graveman, and Osuna. The Astros aren’t concerned about Seattle and the regular season. The division will be locked up pretty easily. Probably the first division locked up, but the be truly dominate Bell would be the perfect addition. Shore up one of the weak spots in the lineup.
They should get to work, lots of players for the Nats to send out before the deadline
Next person who calls them the ‘Trashtros’ or refers to the ‘cheating’ thing in any way (all teams ‘cheat’, hate to break it to the deniers and mike trout is allowed to take steroids), there’s going to be a problem.
Trashtros
How’s Mike Trout’s HGH going? (for ‘health’ reasons, of course).
Ok so what prospects could Washington want in this potential trade with the Astros?
Would be rather strange to add a lazy player with a me first attitude when the team is working towards a world series. Why add turmoil to the clubhouse?
Who would that player be? Bell is a decidedly hard working guy and a team player (ask the Pirates and the Nats).
There is no doubt the Astros need another bat to lengthen their lineup and for the bench.
Who knows when or if Brantley comes back.
Yuli has been slumping(age 38) most of the season
McCormick, Meyers, and Maldonado are not reliable run producers.
The lineup simply lacks the juice it has had in the past.