SAN DIEGO — The Guardians went into this offseason looking to improve a young roster that surprisingly won the American League Central Division title in 2022.
As the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings continue in San Diego, they appear to have taken a big step towards doing just that.
According to multiple reports, Cleveland has agreed to a two-year contract with former All-Star first baseman Josh Bell. ESPN's Jeff Passan was the first to report the signing, with MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman later adding that the deal is worth $33 million total and features an opt-out clause after 2023.
Originally a second-round draft pick, Bell came up with the Pittsburgh Pirates and spent his first five big-league seasons with the organization. After finishing fifth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting with 26 home runs in 2017, his breakout campaign came two years later, when he belted 37 homers and drove in 116 runs to achieve his first All-Star nod.
Bell was shipped to Washington before 2021 and hit 27 more home runs that season. The 30-year-old belted another 14 a year ago before the last-place Nationals traded him to San Diego at the deadline as part of the massive Juan Soto deal, and while Bell hit just .192 with three homers in 53 regular-season games for the Padres, he would play a key role in the team's run to the NLCS, and wound up being named the league's Silver Slugger among designated hitters even though he played just 32 games at that spot.
The acquisition of Bell is key for the Guards on multiple fronts, notably that it could add much-needed power to a lineup that hit only 127 homers combined last season (second-worst in all of baseball). While Cleveland still made the postseason and out-hit the New York Yankees 44-28 in the ALDS, they were also out-homered 9-3 in a five-game series loss.
The switch-hitting Bell also gives the Guardians an everyday or platoon option at both first base and DH, where Josh Naylor hit 20 home runs a year ago but posted a woeful .512 OPS against lefties. By contrast, Bell's career OPS against southpaws is .767, including .717 in 2022.
The Guardians have not yet confirmed the Bell signing, although the slugger has since all but made it official on his personal Twitter account. It is also unknown how the reported $33 million will be split over the two years or how much Bell could be sacrificing if he indeed opts out after a single season.