Should the Twins Bring Back Josh Bell for 2027?

[LyleCole]

While I believe you cannot do things half way, you either compete (and spend the money) or you rebuild.  Half way just gives us the 75-84 win type of teams that occasionally make the bottom edge of the playoff teams (either winning the extremely mediocre Central Division or the last wild card).  

But it also depends on what the other options are.  One aspect of rebuilding is you need to have patience and stick with the players you are trying to develop.  5.21 and 5.49 are the ERAs the 1982 and 1983 Twins had 126 and 210 innings pitched by Frank Viola before he gained the experience and confidence to match his stuff (probably is good concept for some of the younger pitchers on the staff today).  Then in 1984 he had a 3.21 ERA over 257 innings and eventually became the Cy Young level pitcher think about.

If we are going to develop and essentially tank and consider that progress then do not bring back Josh Bell.   But, if there really isn't a player that can replace him immediately on the roster I would consider retaining him.  IN the end, if they really commit to a rebuild getting Gabe Gonzalez and others Bells plate appearances have more long term value to the team.

While in many ways it might be miserable, a 60-102 2027 with the young players developing might be the best possible outcome for the Twins.  Trade away the valuable veterans for solid prospects, lock in another top 3 pick, and move on to 2028 with the core of your team getting that full year experience at the highest level.

[RpR]

6 minutes ago, LyleCole said:

...While in many ways it might be miserable, a 60-102 2027 with the young players developing might be the best possible outcome for the Twins.  Trade away the valuable veterans for solid prospects, lock in another top 3 pick, and move on to 2028 with the core of your team getting that full year experience at the highest level.

The sun'll come out tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar, that tomorrow there'll be sun
Just thinking about tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs, and the sorrow 'til there's none

When I'm stuck with a day that's gray and lonely
I just stick out my chin, and grin, and say, oh

The sun'll come out tomorrow
Oh, you gotta hang on 'til tomorrow, come what may
Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow
You're always a day away

[Mike Sixel]

It boggles the mind people want to bring back this roster.

[HarmonK03]

He just clogs up the roster and for a league average player why would you do that.  Rotate the DH between the outfielders, there will be 4 and maybe 5 that will need at bats.  

[Brandon]

7 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

He was a better hitter than I expected, and honestly, despite not liking the signing last offseason, he did endear himself to me; a great guy for sure. But he's still not a good fit for the roster. 

I just don't understand why this club always has to find their 'veteran clubhouse' presence on the lower tiers of free agency. Why don't the team's existing veterans fill this void? Why can't 25M free agents fill this void?

See Chili Davis.  He was ßigned for 1991.  On the cheap after an injury in Anaheim the year before.  

[Blyleven2011]

7 hours ago, MeleMouth said:

Bring Bell back as bench coach.

As a player, he won't help them win next year, there's no chance he would be part of a better future team, and he would be unlikely to get anything of value at the trade deadline.

Unless you need a certain number of replacement level players to get through a push year, the optimal number of at-bats for a player like that is zero.

I was thinking close to your terms only I would make him a player / coach …

who is the bench coach ??? , I hear nothing or know nothing about him …

that is if he is that instrumental with the clubhouse and younger players , Shelton would then have his man coaching and be available to pinch hit and DH on occasion  …

think outside the box for once …

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Absolutely not. 

He has zero defensive value and the bat isn't good enough to make up for it.

Good teammate. He is who he is. It just isn't a good fit for him here. 

[rv78]

At $10M he'll be too expensive for what he brings to the table. 

Jeffers is the key and will be the first sign of what they are going to do. 1)If they somehow resign him, that will mean Tom is actually serious about his "Go Big or Go Home". 2) If they let him walk, then they are finally either committed to rebuilding with the young guys or they will attempt another weak and feeble "Go For It" in 2027 and it will be Tom's 2026 repeat of Go Big and Go Home.

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

I like Josh Bell a lot and was happy with his performance this season. Getting 90 RBI is not an easy task. That said, and as others have posted, he doesn't seem like a great fit for the team going forward. Sure, we can go with in-house options and even use Buxton more often as a DH, but I wouldn't be shocked if our production next season at DH is even worse than this season. Bell did as was expected, but I can't see one of our other outfield leftovers doing as good of a job. But of course the elephant in the room is the looming lockout, or whatever we are going to call it. I can't imagine the Twins will be forking out ANY money at all for free agents until there is some clarity to these labor negotiations. It's going to one long  boring winter for us baseball fans. 

[MapleGroveTwinsFan]

12 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

It boggles the mind people want to bring back this roster.

Doesn't boggle my mind, when you see comments of giving Wallner another chance, bring Larnach back, Bring Lewis, Ober, and all the rest of the league average players back and give it another go. 

If they bring him back at 10 or even a reduced salary, it is proof IMO that Zoll is trying to get fired but knows the Twins ownership is too stupid to do. After the last few seasons bringing back a league average DH makes no sense, because if they are good next year and competing they can just go out a trade for him or somebody like him, having him take away at bats from young players at the beginning of the season is a word I am allowed to use on this site.

[Whitey333]

I doubt the will bring back josh bell.  Im always amazed how driving in runs, yes RBI isnt important anymore unless you are on a good team.  Then their announcers and reporters brag it up.  The fact that Bell is like 8th in RBI in the league is apparently of no significance.  I also think he is replaceable for a cheaper option.  Just like Byron Buxton.  Buck should no longer be considered an integral part of the team.  Why arent his RBI stats scrutinized and downplayed?  

[Jeff K]

No, and while he had a solid season with the bat, I still don't like his signing for the 26 season; much less 27.  The team has too many dh types as it is and Josh can't play a position; even badly.  

[Trov]

I would say no, he does not provide enough value at DH.  When hot he can do well, but when cold he is terrible.  He is slow, does not hit enough power to make up for complete lack of speed, and offers no defense.  We have a lot of guys that could rotate through DH using it as a semi off day, or you can move Keashall there being his defense is terrible but his bat, although not power, is useful in the lineup. 

The only pause I would give is that history has shown most guys do worse as a DH than when in field overall so having someone who has learned to DH can be useful. 

[Road trip]

Bell may be a great clubhouse guy and a leader, but I don't get the perceived need for more "veteran presence" for this squad.  Next year the Twins are very likely to roster nearly all of the below players:

Nance (36)
Hoffman (34)
Buxton (33)
Caratini (33)
Clemens (31)
Ryan (31)
Kremer (31)
Ober (31)
Pablo (31)
Funderburk (30)
Jackson or other random veteran backup catcher (30 something)

This is an OLD squad, not a young one, even after you add Jenkins, Culpepper, etc next year.  Buxton, Clemens, Pablo et al should be able to provide more than enough veteran presence for the few under-25 guys on the roster.
 

[Sven]

Have to replace 90 rbis.  (not even mentioned in article)  That is huge on this team.  But keep him for $5m, need $ to get Jeffers back or you lose both top rbi guys.

[High heat]

No, I think the DH needs to be more of a rotation. 
 

I like Bell just rather get the 5 outfielders all ABs.  (Emma, Jenkins Buxton Luke, Roden)

[LyleCole]

16 hours ago, RpR said:

The sun'll come out tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar, that tomorrow there'll be sun
Just thinking about tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs, and the sorrow 'til there's none

When I'm stuck with a day that's gray and lonely
I just stick out my chin, and grin, and say, oh

The sun'll come out tomorrow
Oh, you gotta hang on 'til tomorrow, come what may
Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow
You're always a day away

Why would you waste your time on this nonsense?

[DannySD]

If he played any defense, I'd say yes. He's obviously valuable in the lineup, leading the team in RBI and always seems to be in the middle of it when they're scoring.

But I agree that Buxton and Keashall (and possibly Jeffers or Larnach) might warrant a bunch of DH time, so I think it would be best to pass on Bell.

[Coach]

4 hours ago, Road trip said:

Bell may be a great clubhouse guy and a leader, but I don't get the perceived need for more "veteran presence" for this squad.  Next year the Twins are very likely to roster nearly all of the below players:

Nance (36)
Hoffman (34)
Buxton (33)
Caratini (33)
Clemens (31)
Ryan (31)
Kremer (31)
Ober (31)
Pablo (31)
Funderburk (30)
Jackson or other random veteran backup catcher (30 something)

This is an OLD squad, not a young one, even after you add Jenkins, Culpepper, etc next year.  Buxton, Clemens, Pablo et al should be able to provide more than enough veteran presence for the few under-25 guys on the roster.
 

The only veteran hitter listed is Clemens (not counting randoms).  Sorry Buck, it's hard to lead by example when you're in the trainer's room or on the DL one hundred games a year.

[Road trip]

44 minutes ago, Coach said:

The only veteran hitter listed is Clemens (not counting randoms).  Sorry Buck, it's hard to lead by example when you're in the trainer's room or on the DL one hundred games a year.

Well, Caratini *tries* to hit.  

[David Maro]

Love all the talk about should they bring Bell back or not. This team is a way worse team than just Bell. They could drop 15 or more off the 40 man roster for starters. Looking at the roster from the start of the season only 3 players performed at or above expectations. That would be Bell,Clemens and Lee. They drove in almost 250 RBIs alone,you would need to go to 6 other players added up to get there. You win games by scoring more than your opponent and this team is way too pull happy and doesn't play baseball. 

Being a small market team the plan needs to be more like the Brewers and Rays and less like the Yankees. Every year the Brewers and Rays spank the Twins because they play baseball while the Twins play HR. Time to move on and make major moves at numerous positions or like being a 4th or 5th place team in a division that is getting better.

[Coach]

Josh Bell is just barely under the numbers the DH God Cruz put up.

[Danchat]

23 hours ago, Twins GFP said:

We booted Carlos Santana, never mind his 1.4 WAR the following season

Santana signed for 1/$12M to generate .219 ba .633 OPS 78 OPS+... letting him go was 100% the right move.

[Danchat]

19 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

It boggles the mind people want to bring back this roster.

But Mike, if we run back the same roster (again) and everybody stays healthy, we might go .500 this time! 🤪

15 minutes ago, Coach said:

Josh Bell is just barely under the numbers the DH God Cruz put up.

You might want to provide some statistical backing to that argument unless "barely" = a chasm. The only stat Bell is close to Cruz in is RBIs. Is Bell hitting close to .300, .380 OBP, and 76 HRs per 1000 PAs?

[RpR]

But of course.

[Al from SoDak]

On 9/21/2026 at 12:57 PM, Brandon said:

...I think he likes it here...

I think guys like Bell frequently sign with teams like the Twins hoping to prove they are still viable MLB players and that they hope to get traded to a contender. I don't think he cared where he played.