The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded first baseman Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals for pitchers Eddy Yean and Wil Crowe according to Jeff Passan and Jon Heyman. It was rumored weeks ago that the Pirates were involving Josh Bell and Jameson Taillon in trade talks and today they shipped off 28 year old slugger, Bell.
The power switch hitting first baseman/outfielder was an all-star in 2019 when he went on a tear in the first half of the season. Bell looked like an MVP candidate in the first half of 2019 on a struggling Pirates team before slowing down in the second half. Bell finished that season with 37 home runs and 116 RBI’s, a career year from him even with the rocky second half. Josh Bell has a career 2.6 WAR with 86 home runs and 309 RBI’s and is not set to be a free agent until 2023. He, like so many others had a down year in the shortened 2020 season hitting 8 home runs and batting .226 in 57 games. It was a disappointing season for Bell to say the least and it was enough to bring down his trade value.
The Nationals needed an upgrade at first base for 2021, Asdtrubal Cabrera played first base for the majority of Nationals season along with Eric Thames. Although they are quality players they simply were not the answer for the Nationals and Ryan Zimmerman who opted out of the 2020 season is not getting any younger and is not the solution either. The Nationals are hoping that Bell can return to his 2019 form as they’re searching for more production from the first base slot. In 2020 Nationals first baseman combined for 11 HR’s and 43 RBI’s. Bell will be slotted into the middle of the Nationals lineup and he adds protection to superstar Juan Soto. The Nationals struggled in 2020 after their World Series run in 2019 finishing last in their division and are hoping Bell will help them return to their championship form and are looking to make a couple more runs at another World Series before they have to pay stars like Trea Turner and Juan Soto. Bell should be a great addition and fit for this Nationals squad.
For the Pirates, they are clearly rebuilding. They have a very young team and are hoping some of their young players breakout soon. Pirates fans haven’t had much to root for lately and they’ve made some questionable moves. It’s been a while since the Pirates have paid any of their young stars and have traded away a lot of players that have thrived on their new teams. Gerrit Cole, Andrew McCutchen, Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows, and Starling Marte are MLB stars that the Pirates have traded away in recent years. The Pirates received Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean in return for Bell. Crowe made his MLB debut in 2020 and he learned quickly that pitching in the MLB isn’t easy. He went 0-2 in three starts pitching to an 11.88 ERA in 8.1 IP giving up 5 home runs. Crowe is 26 years old and will fight for a spot in the Pirates rotation in 2021, he was also the Nationals number 3 overall prospect. Yean is a young 19 year old prospect who Pirates fans probably won’t see for a few years. Yean had just made the jump to short season A ball in 2019. He was signed as an IFA out of the Dominican Republic and was the Nationals number 6 overall prospect. He has a 3 pitch mix right now including a 60 grade fastball according to MLB Pipeline. The Pirates are hoping that Crowe can figure things out and help their ball club immediately while they hope Yean continues to progress in the minors and will make an impact when he arrives in a few years.
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