MLBTR Poll: Josh Bell’s Future

Posted On Dec 16, 2019 By admin With Comments Off

The Pirates have a brand-new general manager in Ben Cherington, whom they officially introduced as Neal Huntington’s replacement Monday. Plagiarists owned Bob Nutting indicated then that the Plagiarist, a few weeks removed from a 69 -win season and their fourth straight-from-the-shoulder time without a playoff place, don’t consider anyone on their listing as untouchable. Even before Nutting constituted that disclosure, numerous considered high-profile Pirates such as Starling Marte, Chris Archer and Keone Kela as transaction campaigners. But in the wake of Nutting’s comments, there’s an even bigger name in the mixture: first baseman Josh Bell.

Would the Cherington-led Pirates dare shop Bell, who has arguably developed as their first right musician since the Andrew McCutchen age comes down to an boundary after the 2017 season? Bell, like McCutchen, is a homegrown Pirate made good. A second-round pick of the Plagiarist in 2011, Bell debuted in 2016 and affixed passable quantities( relative to his offense-driven position) during the first three years of his occupation. But the switch-hitting Bell broke out this year during an All-Star season in which he reduced. 277/.367 /. 569 with 37 home runs and 116 flows batted in- an superb quantity even if you regard RBI as an antiquated statistic.

So what’s the problem for Pittsburgh, which seems to have a real building block on its paws at first? As is often the case, it’s about the money. The 27 -year-old Bell’s projected to make an cheap $5.9 MM via arbitration in 2020, though he has just two more seasons of arbitration control thereafter. And considering their current state, it was possible to improbable on the Pirates’ area to expect they’ll turn back into challengers during Bell’s remaining arb years.

The Pirates could give Bell in that time span and retain him for the long haul, though as of July, super-agent Scott Boras didn’t sound idealistic about a new deal coming together. Boras took aim at the Pirates for not showing a willingness” got to go and invest in a great young actor for a long time, ” too praising the team for a payroll that has barely climbed( relative to its revenues) across the past two decades.

It’s hard to argue with the opinionated Boras regarding the Pirates, especially considering they still haven’t ratified anyone for more than the $60 MM propagation they passed former idol catcher Jason Kendall back in November 2000. Bell would likely rake in more on his next pact, but should Pittsburgh make an aggressive push to lock him up at this pitch? Should the team simply keep Bell and continue travelling year to time with him? Or maybe now is the time to trade Bell, who’s more charm than all free-agent first basemen on the open market.

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