{"id":42235,"date":"2020-12-24T14:57:53","date_gmt":"2020-12-24T19:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=42235"},"modified":"2021-03-28T15:13:54","modified_gmt":"2021-03-28T19:13:54","slug":"josh-bell-trade-washington-nationalsin-exchange-for-two-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2020\/12\/24\/josh-bell-trade-washington-nationalsin-exchange-for-two-prospects\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Nationals Trade for Josh Bell"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to Jeff Passan, the Washington Nationals have traded for Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell<\/strong> in exchange for Wil Crowe<\/a><\/strong> and Eddy Yean<\/strong><\/a>, two pitchers in the Nationals farm system. The Nationals need a power bat in the middle of the lineup to protect Juan Soto<\/a><\/strong> and Trea Turner<\/a><\/strong> and the trade for Bell provides that. Although he is coming off a rough 2020 campaign, batting just .226, Bell was an All-Star in 2019 with 37 home runs and a .367 on-base percentage. The Pirates<\/a> receive Crowe, the Nationals third-best prospect according to MLB.com, and Yean, the Nationals sixth-best prospect.<\/p>\n

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First baseman Josh Bell has been traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Washington Nationals, a source tells ESPN. Two young pitchers headed back to Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 24, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Can confirm that the Nationals are acquiring first baseman Josh Bell in a trade with the Pirates. Reported return to PIT is two young pitchers in Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean. @JMackeyPG<\/a> was first to mention a deal was brewing.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) December 24, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The Nationals Get Their Power Bat<\/h2>\n

Last season, the Nationals signed Eric Thames<\/a><\/strong> in hopes of replacing some of the production by Anthony Rendon<\/a><\/strong>. However, Thames struggled mightily last season with just three home runs while Howie Kendrick<\/a><\/strong> dealt with an injury. Mike Rizzo made getting a power bat a major priority this offseason by acquiring Bell. In 2019, Bell had a .569 slugging percentage and a .936 OPS. Despite hitting 12 home runs in 2018, the Nationals need the 2017-2019 version of Josh Bell, rather than the 2020 version. Bell had a 2.68 strikeout to walk ratio and a .364 slugging percentage, a .205 point drop from 2019.<\/p>\n

Behind Soto and Turner, Bell, a switch hitter, should force pitchers to pitch to Soto and Turner with his power. If Turner were on base, then Bell could see a heavy dosage of fastballs due to Turner’s speed, making him a perfect fit.<\/p>\n

The Pirates Return<\/h2>\n

In exchange for Josh Bell, the Pirates trade for two of the Nationals top six prospects. Crowe made his MLB debut last season and struggled with a 11.88 ERA in 8 1\/3 innings pitched. Crowe still has upside with a low-to-mid-90s fastball and a solid slider. Yean is a “lottery ticket” prospect as he is just 19 years old. He has pitched 90 innings in professional baseball with a fastball that touches 97 and a plus slider in the mid-80s.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images<\/a>