Joshua Evan Bell (born August 14, 1992) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. Bell made his MLB debut in 2016 with the Pirates. Bell attended

Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas (commonly referred to as Jesuit Dallas or Dallas Jesuit, and formerly known as Jesuit High School) is a private, college-preparatory school for young men under the direction of the Society of Jesus a ...

and was selected by the Pirates in the second round of the

2011 MLB draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

. Bell received a $5 million

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

, a record for a player outside of the first round, to bypass his

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

scholarship to the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. He played in MLB for the Pirates from 2016 through 2020, and was an All-Star in 2019. After the 2020 season, the Pirates traded Bell to the Nationals. During the 2022 season, the Nationals traded him to the Padres.

Amateur career

Bell attended

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

. In his senior season at Jesuit, he had a .548

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and 1.054

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

with 13

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 54

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

and 54

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

. He was named to the ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' All-USA high school baseball team and was also named the

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develop ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Rise Texas Player of the Year. Bell committed to attend the

on a scholarship that would allow him to play

for the

Texas Longhorns baseball The Texas Longhorns baseball team represents The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's baseball competition. The Longhorns currently compete in the Big 12 Conference. The University of Texas began varsity interc ...

team in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

. ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' rated Bell as the nation's top corner outfielder available in the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

. However, Bell sent a letter to the

Commissioner of Baseball The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...

's office, indicating that teams should not select him, because he would follow through with his commitment to Texas, and would not sign a professional contract if drafted. The Pirates drafted Bell in the second round, with the 61st overall selection, of the 2011 draft. Bell took twelve credits at the University of Texas and worked out with the team's strength and conditioning coach during the summer. Bell and the Pirates agreed to a contract with a $5 million

shortly before the August 2011 signing deadline. The signing bonus was a record for a player drafted in the second round. The Pirates gave out a record $17 million in signing bonuses to their 2011 draft class, surpassing the $11.93 million the

spent on their 2010 draft class.

Professional career

Minor leagues (2011–2016)

The Pirates assigned Bell to work out with the

State College Spikes The State College Spikes are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in State College, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. The ...

, but as the season was ending, he did not appear in a game with the Spikes in 2011. Bell participated in the Pirates' fall instructional league. Bell was ranked the 69th best prospect in baseball by

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

before the 2012 season. He made his professional debut in 2012 with the

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The Dir ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

. However, on April 24, 2012, Bell hit what would have been a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

, but pulled up limping rounding

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, and was tagged out standing between first and second with an injury. Bell ended up having a partial tear of his

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...

, on the lateral part of the meniscus in his knee. Bell missed almost all of the 2012 minor league season, and was out longer than expected due to swelling in the injured knee. Bell again played for the West Virginia Power in 2013. He batted .279 with 13 home runs, 76 RBIs, and 37 doubles in 119 games. Bell opened the 2014 season with the

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as th ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

(FSL), and appeared in the 2014

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

. After hitting .335 with nine home runs and 35 RBIs for Bradenton in 84 games, the Pirates promoted Bell to the

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of the ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League on July 17. In 24 games for Altoona, he batted .287/.343/.309. After the season, he was named the FSL Player of the Year. The Pirates assigned Bell to the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

after the 2014 season, where he played exclusively as a

, due to the Pirates carrying

Andrew McCutchen Andrew Stefan McCutchen (born October 10, 1986) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, Philadelphia P ...

Starling Marte Starling Javier Marte (born October 9, 1988) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, and Oa ...

, and

Gregory Polanco Gregory Polanco (born September 14, 1991), nicknamed "El Coffee", is a Dominican professional baseball right fielder for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2014 for the ...

in their major league outfield. The Pirates assigned Bell to Altoona to start the 2015 season. He was chosen to represent the Pirates at the 2015 All-Star Futures Game. At the end of July, the Pirates promoted Bell to the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. In 96 games for Altoona, he batted .307 with five home runs and 60 RBIs. He batted .347 with two home runs, 18 RBIs, and a .441

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

in 145

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

s with Indianapolis, and the Pirates added Bell to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

after the season. Bell began the 2016 season with Indianapolis. He began the season by batting .324 with a .407 on-base percentage in 83 games for the Indians.

Pittsburgh Pirates (2016–2020)

The Pirates promoted Bell to the major leagues on July 8, 2016. He made his MLB debut that night as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

, and hit a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

in his second MLB

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

on July 9. He was optioned back to Indianapolis on July 16, and recalled once again on August 20. In 128

at-bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

for Pittsburgh, Bell batted .273 with three home runs and 19 RBIs. On February 1, 2017, Bell underwent left knee surgery, but did not go on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

or miss any games. On September 4, Bell broke the National League record for most home runs by a rookie

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better aga ...

, hitting his 24th of the season off of

Jake Arrieta Jacob Joseph Arrieta (born March 6, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and San Diego Padres. Arrieta played college ...

, in a 12–0 Pirates' victory over the Chicago Cubs. He was one of three finalists for the 2017 Rookie of the Year award along with

Cody Bellinger Cody James Bellinger (born July 13, 1995) is an American professional baseball center fielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was selected ...

and Paul DeJong, and finished in third place in the balloting. Bell finished the season with a .255 batting average, 26 home runs and 90 RBIs. In 2018, he batted .261 with 12 home runs and 62 RBIs. On May 8, 2019, Bell became the fourth player in PNC Park history to hit a ball directly into the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...

; the ball traveled with an

exit velocity In baseball statistics, exit velocity (EV) is the estimated speed at which a batted ball is travelling as it is coming off the player's bat. Batters generally aim for a higher exit velocity in order to give opposing fielders less time to react ...

of . Two weeks later, Bell became the first MLB player to hit two home runs directly into the Allegheny River. Bell was elected to his first

MLB All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

on June 30, 2019. At the time of the All-Star Game, Bell was batting .302 with 27 home runs and an MLB-leading 84 RBIs. Bell also participated in the 2019 Home Run Derby where he was eliminated in the first round. Bell struggled in the second half of the season, batting .233 with 10 home runs, to finish the season with a .277 average, 37 home runs, and 116 RBIs. Bell and the Pirates agreed to a $4.8 million salary for the 2020 season. During the season, which was shortened due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Bell hit .226 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs. Josh Bell Nationals (cropped)

Washington Nationals (2021–2022)

On December 24, 2020, the Pirates traded Bell to the

in exchange for

Wil Crowe William Chandler Crowe (born September 9, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals. Amateur career Crowe attended Pigeon ...

and Eddy Yean. Bell and the Nationals agreed to a $6.35 million salary for the 2021 season, avoiding salary arbitration. On April 20, 2021, Bell hit his first home run with the Nationals. He finished the 2021 season batting .261/.347/.476 with 27 home runs and 88 RBIs in 144 games. In his final year of eligibility for salary arbitration, Bell signed a $10 million contract with the Nationals before the 2022 season.

San Diego Padres (2022)

On August 2, 2022, Bell, along with

Juan Soto Juan José Soto Pacheco (born October 25, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals. Soto signed with the Nation ...

, was traded to the

in exchange for

C. J. Abrams Paul Christopher Abrams (born October 3, 2000) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the San Diego Padres. Amateur career Abrams attended B ...

MacKenzie Gore MacKenzie Evan Gore (born February 24, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the San Diego Padres. Amateur career Gore attended Whitevil ...

, Robert Hassell III, James Wood, Jarlin Susana and

Luke Voit Louis Linwood Voit III (born February 13, 1991) is an American professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals. Voi ...

. Bell had a

slash line S sabermetrics :Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. The term was coined by Bill James, an e ...

of .301/.384/.493 with 14 home runs in 103 games for the Nationals. He hit his first home run for the Padres in a game against the Nationals on August 20, 2022. His hitting fell to 192/.316/.271 with San Diego, and he lost playing time in the playoffs.

Cleveland Guardians

On December 12, 2022, the

signed Bell to a two-year, $33 million contract. The deal includes a player opt-out clause after the 2023 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Josh 1992 births Living people African-American baseball players People from Irving, Texas Baseball players from Texas Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball first basemen National League All-Stars Silver Slugger Award winners Pittsburgh Pirates players Washington Nationals players San Diego Padres players West Virginia Power players Bradenton Marauders players Altoona Curve players Scottsdale Scorpions players Indianapolis Indians players Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople

Amateur career

Professional career

Minor leagues (2011–2016)

Pittsburgh Pirates (2016–2020)

Washington Nationals (2021–2022)

San Diego Padres (2022)

Cleveland Guardians

See also

References

External links