BREAKING: Twins Sign First Baseman Josh Bell to One-Year Deal

[Brandon]

9 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

This should be pinned. 

You guys put to much faith/ value in WAR.

[IndianaTwin]

19 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

The Twins just spent nearly half of their very limited offseason budget on a replacement level player who is an absolute butcher at 1B and will most likely clog up the DH spot on a roster that currently has at least 3 other guys best suited for the DH role. I mean, maybe there's reason to complain here....

Per MLBTradeRumors and incorporating the part about $1.25M being in the form of an option:

Bell adds $5.75MM to the 2026 payroll, boosting the Twins just north of $100MM in the process, per RosterResource. Dan Hayes of The Athletic has previously reported that the front office has about $20MM to spend this winter. 

 

So less than a third of the "very limited offseason budget," which also doesn't take into account the offloading of Larnach or anyone else. I'd also add that this info is being provided by the same person who was previously reporting that Lopez, Ryan and Buxton were likely to be traded so I take his precision with a reasonable amount of salt.

[KirbyDome89]

5 minutes ago, Brandon said:

You guys put to much faith/ value in WAR.

He has been replacement level for the last 3 years, how much larger does the sample size need to be before we can acknowledge that he just isn't worth the money, or more importantly, the PA investment?

[KirbyDome89]

2 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

Per MLBTradeRumors and incorporating the part about $1.25M being in the form of an option:

Bell adds $5.75MM to the 2026 payroll, boosting the Twins just north of $100MM in the process, per RosterResource. Dan Hayes of The Athletic has previously reported that the front office has about $20MM to spend this winter. 

 

So less than a third of the "very limited offseason budget," which also doesn't take into account the offloading of Larnach or anyone else. I'd also add that this info is being provided by the same person who was previously reporting that Lopez, Ryan and Buxton were likely to be traded so I take his precision with a reasonable amount of salt.

$7M guaranteed via the one year deal. That's literally posted in write up. Idk, I trust that Bobby Nightengale has the numbers correct....

[TwinsDr2021]

What is worse the signing or people liking the signing? It is a bad signing no matter how well Bell does. Best case scenario is he does well and you trade him. Cost 7 million. Worst case, he plays like Josh Bell and is forced to the bench or cut. Cost 7 million. 

IMO, 7 million to not improve your team is reason 9980 that Falvey should be fired. It almost feels like they are trying to drive the fans away from Target Field.

[KirbyDome89]

4 hours ago, NYCTK said:

Who is he blocking? 

The reason this is completely inoffensive, if unexciting, is because there is no one. 

In the DH role? You could easily slide Wallner or Larnach there and get replacement or better type production. That's a better use of those 500-600 PAs. Hell, I'd rather the Twins get Julien PAs as a DH over Bell. 

Committing to a borderline full time DH is a tough roster move in general. The fact that Bell is such a nothing offensively makes the move even worse. Buxton, Lewis, Jeffers, ect are going to need some run in the DH spot. Bell played 30 games in the field last season. He isn't a 1B, and we need to stop treating this signing as if the Twins just stabilized the floor at that position. Bell isn't coming in and shoving Clemens off 1B. 

[weitz41]

I would have preferred a trade for Mountcastle. Same salary more upside potential. But that'd cost a DSL player..I suppose that's it for signings till Larnach is traded or some 40-year-old relief pitcher runs out of patience.

[IndianaTwin]

12 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

$7M guaranteed via the one year deal. That's literally posted in write up. Idk, I trust that Bobby Nightengale has the numbers correct....

Per the same MLBTR article, which is good about adding additional detail as it comes available: 

9:39am: Bell’s 2026 salary will be $5.5MM, per Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He also receives a $250K signing bonus, and there’s a $1.25MM buyout on the mutual option.

So yes, guaranteed, but not all paid this year. 

 

[NYCTK]

9 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

What is worse the signing or people liking the signing? It is a bad signing no matter how well Bell does. Best case scenario is he does well and you trade him. Cost 7 million. Worst case, he plays like Josh Bell and is forced to the bench or cut. Cost 7 million. 

IMO, 7 million to not improve your team is reason 9980 that Falvey should be fired. It almost feels like they are trying to drive the fans away from Target Field.

This team sucks so I can see easily be convinced that they should have just blown everything up and not even bother filling holes. I argued the same thing last offseason. But this exact comment could have been made last year about Bader. 

Now, Bader was a much better signing so it makes sense that there's almost no one excited for the signing, but it's still an entirely defensible move. 

[Trov]

He is fine enough to fill in for a year.  Really his ability to hit right handed helps as that is his stronger side and we were loaded with left hand hitting guys. He does not move a needle but he has always been above average hitter, very streaky guy that when on hot a streak can carry an offense for a week or two. 

[TwinsDr2021]

3 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

This team sucks so I can see easily be convinced that they should have just blown everything up and not even bother filling holes. I argued the same thing last offseason. But this exact comment could have been made last year about Bader. 

Now, Bader was a much better signing so it makes sense that there's almost no one excited for the signing, but it's still an entirely defensible move. 

IMO, the thing that makes the move defensible is how bad the offensive side of the 40 man looks, which really isn't a good reason to sign a player probably not good enough to make most teams 26 man roster. 

As of now I would think the 13 guys on the 26 man are, Jeffers, another catcher, Lewis, Lee, Keaschall, Clemens, Fitzgerald, Buxton, Larnach, Wallner, Martin,  Bell and Roden, Outman or Julien. 

With Bell or without Bell, that isn't good, remove Larnach (which they should) and it doesn't make it look any better. Because that leaves the likes of Gasper, Julien, Kreidler and Roden or Outman getting at bats ahead of Jenkins, GG, Erod, or Mendez. 

 

[1985Fan]

Just another dumb signing by Falvey. If Josh Bell is the middle of the order bat “with thump” they sign, it’s another indicator that Falvey is clueless and should be out the door. If they really wanted a 1B bat with thump, should’ve signed O’Hearn. But Falvey is more concerned with trying to squeeze incremental value out of players to prove how smart he is than actually winning. 
He thinks putting Bell in the middle of this lineup is competing? Hilarious. I’d rather watch Sabato, or Larnach, or Wallner given a shot at 1B. Bell is bad defensively, can’t hit in cold weather, and has no future with the Twins. Perfect match for Falvey. Now that they’re stuck with him for a while, he should be DH only. This team didn’t need to get worse defensively! 
 

[bunsen82]

33 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

Per MLBTradeRumors and incorporating the part about $1.25M being in the form of an option:

Bell adds $5.75MM to the 2026 payroll, boosting the Twins just north of $100MM in the process, per RosterResource. Dan Hayes of The Athletic has previously reported that the front office has about $20MM to spend this winter. 

 

So less than a third of the "very limited offseason budget," which also doesn't take into account the offloading of Larnach or anyone else. I'd also add that this info is being provided by the same person who was previously reporting that Lopez, Ryan and Buxton were likely to be traded so I take his precision with a reasonable amount of salt.

To be fair,  other teams and agents said the Twins front office suddenly reversed course right before winter meetings.  Falvey even mentioned as much talking with free agents and telling them their plans had changed.  This is as much about the owners being fickle as anything, and progress on the minority owners.  

[USAFChief]

54 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

Clemens will still be at first on a daily basis. He's at worst the strong side of a poor platoon. If Bell is completely cooked defensively Clemens still has 1B to himself, at least for the moment. 

Are you sure?

My guess is Bell js the everyday first baseman.

 

[USAFChief]

As to the signing of Josh Bell, this is exactly what teams mired in perpetual suckitude do to help ensure they stay there.

Always have the next wave of superstars juuuuust around the corner. Sure to arrive and thrive within a year or two. Trade away actual assets for more future superstars. Sign low level free agents to plug a couple of the numerous holes every year. Wonder why they never get anywhere 

Lather, rinse, repeat. I'd imagine the Pirates front office is jealous.

 

[TwinsDr2021]

25 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

This team sucks so I can see easily be convinced that they should have just blown everything up and not even bother filling holes. I argued the same thing last offseason. But this exact comment could have been made last year about Bader. 

Now, Bader was a much better signing so it makes sense that there's almost no one excited for the signing, but it's still an entirely defensible move. 

I will add what made the Bader signing better was the Twins outfield prospects were a year or so away, so signing him made some sense, and having somebody to back up Buxton was smart. signing a bad first basemen/DH just takes at bats away from other younger guys. Now if the thought is him or Gasper or him or Julien, or him or Kreidler, then I guess I take Bell. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

4 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

well, it's been proven that Josh Bell is very tradable at the deadline, even when he's not been producing.

But he's not really blocking anyone: there's still room for Wallner to DH, Julien hasn't shown enough in the past 2 seasons to say he's being blocked from anything (and I say this as someone who spent a lot of time defending Julien), Keaschall is going to get every opportunity to take 2B and run with it (and I'd much rather have him do that than already get shifted to 1B or the OF), and the real issue on guys not getting called up is a punk like Outman or continuing to roll with Larnach.

If we get AZ Josh Bell, we're going to be pretty happy. There's some indicators that Bell was a little unlucky in Washington last season as well.

Curious as to the terms, but I don't hate this move, especially if it means that Clemens isn't starting at 1B against LHP...

This. Why the hate on this move? If the hate is because "we should have signed someone better like Ryan O'Hearn", I get it. I would have preferred that also. But the hate seems to be "we're blocking young talent". There is no young talent the plays first base and is ready to play in 2026. Clemens is old "talent", Julien is failed "talent", and the guys who played IB and AAA are "probably don't have MLB quality talent".

As for playing Keaschall at 1B, why would we do that now? He certainly wasn't great at 2B last year but he wasn't terrible and what time he could be a better-than-average defensive 2B. Newsflash – he ain't blocking anybody either. Lee is actually a better SS than 2B (he stunk at 2B last year) and the jury is still out on whether he can hit enough, Payton Eeles is gone, Fitzgerald is over 30, and Tanner Schobel has yet to conquer AAA so he is unlikely to be MLB quality in 2026. IF Culpeper gets to MN this year, it won't be until at least July and in the unlikely event that he is blocked by spotless health and stellar performance from Keaschall, Lee and Lewis (wouldn't that be dreamy), we can trade Bell or Keaschall could also potentially play in the OF.

Look, this move hardly makes us instant contenders but it's incremental improvement AND suggests we aren't punting to a complete tear down. Beats the crap out of trading Lopez, Buxton, and Ryan for AA and A ball prospects, that's for sure.   

[Dman]

I always seem to lean negative on these types of signings only to have to eat crow later.  I was vehemently against the Santana signing when they made it and he had a solid year at the plate and won a gold glove then went on to earn real money the next year.

I thought Bader was kind of washed up offensively when the Twins signed him and he ended with a near .800 OPS and great defense. So I was wrong again.

The France signing doesn't rise to the level we are talking about since he only signed for 1M, but he won a gold glove and while a .680 OPS isn't great, Toronto felt he was valuable enough to stick on their playoff roster.

Bell might be a long shot, but the Twins have done fairly well with these types of signings.  So I am going to wait and see this time.  Maybe this is the year their luck on bounce backs runs out. Hard to say.  Bell is just one of many of things that have to go right for this team to be in the hunt.  Hopefully things go well.

[Woof Bronzer]

59 minutes ago, Brandon said:

You guys put to much faith/ value in WAR.

I don't love WAR either and don't like using WAR as the be all end all, which I admit I am doing a bit here.  But it's a reasonable shorthand for position players and I'm not seeing anything in Bell's numbers to indicate WAR is underselling his talents.

But if WAR is an outlier and his other analytics point to him being an above average player, by all means, share the data.  In this instance I'd prefer to be wrong!

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, Brandon said:

You guys put to much faith/ value in WAR.

You don't even need WAR to show Josh Bell is a below average 1B/DH. His offensive numbers alone do that.

He played 1B 33 times last year because he's terrible there. Has been his whole career. That isn't a new idea.

He was the DH 98 times. 

Amongst DHs with 100 PAs at the "position," he ranked 35th in OPS. 36th in slug. 28th in OBP. 40th in Avg.

Don't need WAR to tell you that those numbers aren't good for one of the worst defenders in baseball.

[old nurse]

4 hours ago, Chembry said:

To me, the most encouraging news is that the Twins didn't wait out the market.  Years past they waited out the market until spring training and signed a leftover.  Recent signings of Carlos Santana, Ty France, Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe were all within a week or so of spring training.

Seems like they targeted Bell and went out and signed him.  We can question who they targeted and why, but I am happy they actually being proactive.  Now lets sign a few arms.  

You mentioned 4 signings that met or exceeded expectations.

[old nurse]

29 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

You don't even need WAR to show Josh Bell is a below average 1B/DH. His offensive numbers alone do that.

He played 1B 33 times last year because he's terrible there. Has been his whole career. That isn't a new idea.

He was the DH 98 times. 

Amongst DHs with 100 PAs at the "position," he ranked 35th in OPS. 36th in slug. 28th in OBP. 40th in Avg.

Don't need WAR to tell you that those numbers aren't good for one of the worst defenders in baseball.

Where is your faith in our crack hitting coach department. 

[old nurse]

Maybe this is a sign that there is someone interested in Larnach

[chpettit19]

4 minutes ago, old nurse said:

Where is your faith in our crack hitting coach department. 

I'm pretty notorious for not caring much about coaching at all. But I couldn't have faith in the current staff because they're yet another new group.

[SteveLV]

Twins have a gaping hole at 1B.

A good, competitive team sign Alonso or Schwarber or even trades for Eldridge or Long.

A mediocre non-competitive team signs Bell.

The Twins are who we thought they were.

[KirbyDome89]

56 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Are you sure?

My guess is Bell js the everyday first baseman.

 

I mean they gave Clemens their endorsement just a few weeks ago. If they aren't playing him at 1B Idk why he's on the roster. Bell is a legitimately terrible defender. Lewis, Lee, Keaschall/Julien, then Bell might be the worst IF in baseball. Clemens isn't going to rescue them from sucking defensively, but he's a LH bat this FO can platoon and we know how much they adore that usage. 

[Chembry]

6 minutes ago, old nurse said:

You mentioned 4 signings that met or exceeded expectations.

That doesn't negate the fact they signed within a few weeks of spring training.

[KirbyDome89]

1 hour ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

This. Why the hate on this move? If the hate is because "we should have signed someone better like Ryan O'Hearn", I get it. I would have preferred that also. But the hate seems to be "we're blocking young talent". There is no young talent the plays first base and is ready to play in 2026. Clemens is old "talent", Julien is failed "talent", and the guys who played IB and AAA are "probably don't have MLB quality talent".

As for playing Keaschall at 1B, why would we do that now? He certainly wasn't great at 2B last year but he wasn't terrible and what time he could be a better-than-average defensive 2B. Newsflash – he ain't blocking anybody either. Lee is actually a better SS than 2B (he stunk at 2B last year) and the jury is still out on whether he can hit enough, Payton Eeles is gone, Fitzgerald is over 30, and Tanner Schobel has yet to conquer AAA so he is unlikely to be MLB quality in 2026. IF Culpeper gets to MN this year, it won't be until at least July and in the unlikely event that he is blocked by spotless health and stellar performance from Keaschall, Lee and Lewis (wouldn't that be dreamy), we can trade Bell or Keaschall could also potentially play in the OF.

Look, this move hardly makes us instant contenders but it's incremental improvement AND suggests we aren't punting to a complete tear down. Beats the crap out of trading Lopez, Buxton, and Ryan for AA and A ball prospects, that's for sure.   

Bell has been replacement level for the last 3 years. He's a terrible defender who will likely clog the DH spot, and assuming he's healthy and not moved at the deadline that's 500-600 PAs. It's a really poor investment both fiscally and as far as roster/playing time is concerned. You're not making incremental improvement, you're treading water, and you're burning a big chunk of your limited offseason budget to do so. 

To spin it the other way, what's the upside here, or what's to like? Are we hoping he returns to the 2022 version of himself? Does he suddenly figure out how to be a passable defender at age 33? This type of move is a giant nothingburger for a team that desperately needs something to propel it forward. 

[The Great Hambino]

1 minute ago, old nurse said:

Maybe this is a sign that there is someone interested in Larnach

This signing makes more sense to me if Larnach isn't around.  It would be tough for Bell to spell Clemens at 1B against lefties while also spelling Larnach at DH against lefties

For me, the negative feelings about this signing stem from what it represents moreso than the move itself.  A move like this represents tripling down on the same fringe-contention middle ground strategy that has failed the last two seasons.  This team has no realistic chance of competing without like a dozen coin flips working out in their favor (the odds of winning 12 consecutive coin flips is about 0.02%, BTW) unless some real investment in the roster is made.  That clearly isn't coming.  But this also confirms that they're not willing to truly rebuild either.  So instead of facing the reality that nuking your own bullpen moved your realistic contention window to a period outside the remaining control of Ryan/Lopez and acting accordingly to maximize their returns, they're placing yet another half-hearted bet on a deeply flawed roster that just delays the inevitable and reduces the eventual returns for whenever they do face the reality that we will have yet another uncompetitive September.

So it's not about it being too expensive (it isn't) or taking away opportunities from players we need to learn more about at the major league level (at least he isn't a corner outfielder).   It's continuing to try to thread an impossible needle.  It's a continued inability to honestly assess your own roster.  It's choosing the path that is the worst of both worlds

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, amjgt said:

What this thread shows me is that there is a certain faction of people on here who will find a reason to complain about any move the Twins make. 

Part of me understands the frustration they've built up over the last few year, but most of me just wonders why they continue to bother with a team that brings them so much anger. 

I think what this shows is a significant faction of fans are tired of dumpster diving for replacement level players to simply eat up a budget rather than spending money on fewer guys who are seemingly obvious upgrades.

Josh Bell has been the definition of a replacement level (aka next in-line AAA call up) for 3 years. No reason not to go sign Ty France again at $1.7MM based on Spotrac's estimate. 

Save the expenditure for something of value.