The Marlins are placing first baseman Josh Bell on waivers, reports Robert Murray of FanSided on X. At this point, there’s been nothing to suggest Bell has been removed from the roster. In fact, he’s in the lineup for Miami’s game against the Brewers that is taking place as of this writing. It’s possible he stays in Miami if he clears waivers, similar to what happened with Kevin Kiermaier and the Blue Jays earlier this month.
When a player is placed on waivers without being removed from the roster, the club is hoping that some other team will put in a claim and take the contract off their hands. If the player clears, they can send them outright to a minor league affiliate. But Bell has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while retaining all of his salary, so the club can also decide to simply hang onto the player. That’s what transpired with Kiermaier, as he went unclaimed but the Jays kept him around.
Bell, 31, has had some really good seasons in his career but has been trending down of late. He slashed .266/.362/.422 for a wRC+ of 123 in 2022 and then headed into free agency. The Guardians signed him to a two-year, $33MM deal, with Bell making $16.5MM in each year and having the ability to opt out after the first season.
His tenure in Cleveland didn’t go especially well. He slashed .233/.318/.383 in 97 games for a wRC+ of 96. Since Bell isn’t especially fast nor considered a strong defender at first base, he needs to hit to provide value.
He was flipped to Miami at last year’s trade deadline in a swap of bad contracts, with Jean Segura and prospect Kahlil Watson going the other way. Bell’s results improved after the deal, as he hit .270/.338/.480 for a wRC+ of 119 and helped the Marlins get into the playoffs. Despite the hot start, he decided to trigger his player option and stick with the Fish for one more year.
But he hasn’t been able to carry over his strong finish from 2023, as he’s hitting .239/.303/.396 this year for a wRC+ of 96. With his lack of contributions on defense or the basepaths, he’s been below replacement level.
There’s just a bit under $6MM left on Bell’s deal, so the odds of him being claimed are pretty slim. The Marlins are clearly in sell mode, as they have traded controllable players like Luis Arráez and Jazz Chisholm Jr., so a rental player like Bell will undoubtedly be available. Though assuming he goes unclaimed in the coming days, the Fish will likely have to eat some of that money to facilitate a deal. Clubs like the Yankees, Astros, Mariners and others are looking for first base help and could perhaps look into buying low on Bell.
Ouch
For a guy his size he is incredibly weak, he has almost no power.
Really?
Last 7 Days Stats
Player BA HR R RBI SB
Josh Bell 1B • MIA .407 5 6 9 0
That definitely isn’t the issue…the issue is he hits the ball on the ground wayyy too often
Baseball_is_boring – lol no. Bell is a powerhouse. His swing just sucks from a launch angle perspective and he pounds the ball down. If you’ve ever watched him for even a small amount of time you’d know dude is strong.
This year, he looks out of shape though.
Sewald
You got it, very strong guy, out of shape as professional athletes go.
Perfectly good player on a bloated contract. He would be a good add for several teams, but likely no takers unless Fish pay the contract partly down.
youtu.be/mv7Q26OawCM?t=64
Bell has homered in 4 straight games.
Actually about a league average hitter still. Contract is not even under water, or if so just barely. Should be a taker.
Probably has about $6+M or so left on the contract which expires after the season. I wouldn’t be surprised if SEA made a play since Bell is hot right now.
Definitely gonna be a Yankee
For sure
If the Yanks wanted him, why wouldn’t they have just included him in the Jazz trade??
Bucs should take a look
Yes! He could help!
$6 million is over the cheapskate owner’s budget
.240/.300/.400 is basically another Connor Joe.
I don’t know if they want that, even for free.
After Tellez gets back, just what do you do? How does it make sense? Hit Bell against lefties, then what? Can’t play OF and if you DH him, you’re taking away ABs from Cutch.
Hard pass
Josh bell pirates reunion would help the clubhouse
Same with a starling marte reunion but cutch might not like that
Aside from the obligatory walk off homer he’d hit, really, he helps nothing.
It should tell you a lot that, even though the Bucs haven’t had a decent first baseman since Bell left, you’d be hard pressed to find a Pirate fan who would want him back for free. Any Pirate fan with any sense, anyways. He strikes out too much, and he fields and runs the bases like a moose on ice skates.
He had that one incredible first half of what, 27 homers. Then he fizzled. I think he’s a good guy and would agree he’s a good teammate. But he’s another name that isn’t what they need
There are many
Yeah, they don’t need clubhouse help, they need guys who can hit and maybe field a position. Bell runs hot and cold doing the former and definitely cold doing the latter.
Hey tired… i agree with you 100%…these people haven’t a clue about the pirates…if bell is so good …why was he cut…he’s done..one good year with the pirates and that was it…headcase….no reason to sign him…pirates need outfield help…you posters are amazingly dumb
Funny how guys hitting .240 are suddenly head cases. Bell is a tremendous individual and team mate. He’s just past his prime.
Over the past 30 games or so Cutch is hitting .189 and striking out 30% of the time. Taking away ABs would be a plus.
So you’ll put Cutch on the bench and bring in a guy who only recently woke up from his offensive coma? Solid thinking
Meanwhile, you’ve addressed nothing in the way of a couple of power hitters this team needs not only for this year but the foreseeable future, as well
nah rowdy is good, bell washed now, bells days are over
Could he help Astros at first. I know need pitching but was curious.
good call. makes sense.
No, NO, a thousand times NO.
Roughly 6 million left ? Someone will probably take a flier
Snatch him up, Jerry.
Would rather give Vosler or Locklear a go than someone who has had their baseball savant going ice cold like Bell.
Astros? Yankees? Mariners?
Little surprised they couldn’t trade him for cash or even a ptbnl. For most teams, I’d say they tried and couldn’t pull off a deal. For the Marlins however, wouldn’t shock me if they didn’t explore anything and did something irrational again lol.
I saw him play Atl when they were in town. He looked very sluggish and like he didn’t want to play ball anymore. Marlins have that effect on a lot of people, so I bet a change of scenery does him some positive
He’s been pretty much his usual self since the end of April…pretty much expected they couldn’t get anything for him. Should have traded him back in November, like everyone else
I know he’s said he likes living/playing here in Miami, but I’m sure he’ll like wherever he lands just as well
Like any other human being, he gives the diplomatic blah blah for local fans and media, but at the end of the day, the only place he’d truly love playing in is the ideal for every human being would be playing for his hometeam.
Angels can dump Ward for a couple prospects and pickup Bell for the rest of the year… Let’s Go Peary!!
Mariners. Locklear is a year away and Vosler is your 13th hitter, although he’s a good callup for the September run.
Red Sox? Might be an upgrade over Dom Smith
Reds should grab him, put Steer back in left, and Benson out of our misery.
Saw him play a few weeks ago looked incredibly out of shape.
He’s just a truck, so it always look like that
He had man boobs.
Hey punk say that to bells face….
It’s very obvious who would win that fight and it would be the one that has had a career in professional sports
Come on Mariners! Pick him up before the Astros do!…Unless there’s a trade in the works for a better first baseman.
Giants should grab him
It must be so sad to be a Marlins fan, this team is going nowhere and they are selling every good player they get
Signed,
Marlins Fans of pretty much every team other than 1997
Yeah, Seattle is suddenly the Mecca of winning baseball. Kind of Baltimore. Their fans tend to forget where they were a few years back and wish to talk as much trash as Yankees fans
Um, Monkey’s Uncle. Did you not watch baseball in 2003?
The sad part was when they didn’t trade everyone when they should have at minimum in November, but in reality a year earlier…it was sad when they started doing all the stuff they’d done in the 15 years prior, a few years ago, and it was obvious it would lead to this. Now…it’s not sad. It was an inevitability to be sad about a few years ago. At this point, I have very little more than apathy for this organization, and it’s more of confirming reaction whenever they do anything, where it’s basically as expected
Houston?
Brewers
No thanks.
I want him and IKF right now. Give me more offense!
He’s been killing the ball since the all star break, he’s hit 5 homers in the last 6 games. In the time since the all star break there 7-3 and every team the played is over 500. Why don’t you just say we don’t want to win. How the MLB allows this ownership group to continue to do this is ridiculous. If Sherman can’t afford to play players he shouldn’t be an owner.
This is just a procedural move in an attempt to dump his contract from a non-contending team. My guess is there was no trade interest whatsoever so this was the backup plan. My guess is he remains with Miami.
Mariners need to pick him up. He’s free, doesn’t cost an asset. Can still trade for a 3B after.
Marlins and Rays are in a competition as to see who can trade faster. Pretty good battle so far.
Who will still be with both teams by the time they play this week?
i remember when this guy was good, back in a day where covid wasnt even a concern