4 Players the Guardians should look to trade before the deadline

Josh Bell

A complete, but expected disappointment. This is the best way to describe Josh Bell's first season with the Guardians. The hope was that Bell would be able to shake off his poor performance during his time with the San Diego Padres has not worked out in the manner that the team hoped. Bell is not even playing up to the level of his career averages and has not been able to provide what has been expcted of him.

The fact of the matter is that the month of August is two days away and his numbers are still lacking. There is no turning it on. Waiting for him to suddenly find his groove at the plate is a fool's errand. Signing Bell was one of Cleveland's two big whiffs in free agency, which seems pretty applcable to Bell considering how often he fails to do much of anything at the plate.

It is not just about the clear waste of money that Bell's contract clearly is, because that is undisputable. But the prospect of Bell inevitably opting into his player option for next season should be frightening to the front office of the Guardians. There is no way to justify another season of spending another $16.5 million on Bell next year. Getting out from under this albatross of a free-agent contract should be near or at the top of Cleveland's priority list.