Cleveland Guardians trade rumors: 1B Josh Bell remains a great option

The Cleveland Guardians figure to be active in some way at this year’s trade deadline, and barring a complete collapse over the next week, they do still figure to be right in the thick of the races for the AL Wild Card and Central division.

Though the Guardians likely are looking for younger players with multiple years of control – like, say, that superstar outfielder in Washington – Nationals first baseman Josh Bell would be a great fit in Cleveland. The 29-year-old is having a career year, hitting .302/.388/.492 with 13 home runs, 22 doubles, and 51 RBIs to go along with 47 walks to just 55 strikeouts and a 153 OPS+. His Statcast percentiles will make you salivate, and his plate discipline would fit right into Cleveland’s lineup; the Guardians would certainly welcome the power, too.

What Would It Take to Trade for the Guardians to Trade for Josh Bell?

Signed to a one-year, $10 million deal, Washington is looking to recoup that by acquiring a few prospects, like any rebuilding team would. Given that he’s only signed through this season, the prospect haul might not initially seem so daunting.

However, there are no shortage of teams interested in Bell’s services – the Brewers, Astros, and Mets have all already been linked to him – so the asking price might start to get a little steep if multiple teams stay in the bidding. But the Guardians do have plenty of prospect firepower that would allow them to get a deal done.

That being said, Bell is only on that one-year deal, and there’s no guarantee he’d be willing to re-sign with Cleveland; there’s a good chance he could get a pretty decent 3-4 year deal with the season he’s having, and it’s doubtful the Guardians would want to commit that much time and money to him.

But in the short term, the right-handed Bell would be a perfect complement to Josh Naylor at first base, and would allow the Guardians to no longer have to play Owen Miller – who has been struggling both offensively and defensively – at first. Cleveland would also be able to make Bell their designated hitter at times, giving them more flexibility in terms of what to ultimately do with Franmil Reyes, who is hitting just .215 with nine home runs and 102 strikeouts in 242 at-bats this season.

Making a run at the division with a middle of the lineup that features José Ramírez , Josh Naylor, Josh Bell, and Andrés Giménez? That’s not too shabby at all.