MLB Rumors: Top 3 Potential Landing Spots For Josh Bell
Bell was off to a great start in 2022 with the Nats, hitting .301 with an .877 OPS. He certainly struggled after the trade to The Friars, hitting just .192 with them and only three homers in 53 games. But his history tells us that it's reasonable to expect something around his career average of .262, an OPS just over .800, and the high 20s in home runs.
Entering his age-30 season, here are three teams that should be in pursuit of Bell on the free agent market.
Houston Astros
The Astros are in the market for a new, younger first baseman, with 39-year-old Yuli Gurriel hitting free agency. They already sniffed around on Bell during the past trade deadline and there's no reason to expect that their interest has declined too much based off that small sample size in San Diego.
In addition, Bell is a Texas guy, born in Irving, a suburb of Dallas. Which brings us to our next potential landing spot:
Texas Rangers
This is really home for Bell, with the Rangers located in Dallas. The team is no stranger to spending money on the free agent market, after shelling out half a billion dollars last year on their keystone combination in the infield. Another $50M or so on three years for Bell seems like a mere pittance for the Rangers. The only caveat is that they have specifically stated that they're focused on upgrading their starting pitching this winter and that may cause them to lay off Bell rather than compete with other teams for his services.
San Francisco Giants
A team in big-time need of an offensive upgrade in the infield, and while they will most certainly be in on Aaron Judge in the outfield and perhaps one of the star shortstops, they might also save a little to bring in Bell, as they do have an urgent need for a first baseman with some punch.
Photo: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
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