First baseman Josh Bell has been traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Washington Nationals, it was announced Thursday.
In return, the Pirates will get young pitchers Wil Crowe, who debuted with the Nats in 2020, and Eddy Yean.
“We are delighted to have a player of Josh Bell’s caliber on our team,” GM nationals Mike Rizzo said in a statement. “It adds a powerful bat to our lineup. And we know Josh will be a great addition to our clubhouse and our community.”
Bell, 28, was an All-Star in 2019 after a torrid first half in which he hit .302 with 27 homers and 84 RBI. This form has been elusive over the last year or so, however, as he hit .233 with 10 homers during a second half of 2019 reduced by injuries and hit just eight homers while beating a .233 career low in 57 Pirates games. in 2020.
Pittsburgh finished last season 19-41, the worst record of the majors.
Bell believed it could be the cornerstone of Pittsburgh, as the Pirates tried to re-equip themselves with General Manager Ben Cherington and Manager Derek Shelton, both on board after the disastrous collapse of the second half of Pittsburgh. the team in 2019 that caused a top-down renewal in the organization.
Instead, Bell will join the nationals, just 14 months from the World Series title. He is under contract control at least during the 2022 season. His departure also removes the team’s second highest salary from the books. Bell, who had planned to earn $ 4.8 million in 2020 before getting a fraction of it due to the truncated season, thought he was getting at least a small bump in refereeing this time around.
Rizzo had said adding a mid-order bat was his top priority in the off-season.
Crowe, 26, is one of Washington’s best pitching prospects. It was 0-2 with an ERA of 11.88 in three outings for the Nationals in 2020.
Yean, 19, signed with Washington as an unrecruited free agent in 2020. He has posted a 3-5 record with 75 strikeouts while playing underage.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.