The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded first baseman Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals in exchange for pitching prospects Eddy Yean and Wil Crowe. The Post-Gazette‘s Jason Mackey was the first to report the trade, and Jon Heyman reported the prospect haul.
Bell is coming off a down 2020 season, in which he had eight home runs and a 83 OPS+ in almost 200 at-bats, but he’s had an above-average output at the plate in parts of his four seasons with the Pirates before that. His best season came in 2019, where he earned an All-Star selection and finished the year with 37 home runs, 117 RBIs and a 142 OPS+.
Bell fills an extreme need for the Nationals, who before this trade didn’t have a first baseman on their 40-man roster. In 2020, the Nationals filled the position primarily by splitting time between Eric Thames and Asdrubul Cabrera. Guys like Brock Holt and Josh Harrison also spent time at the corner spot. Overall, the Nationals first basemen produced a -1.0 bWAR and league-average .784 OPS in 2020.
Despite a down year in 2020, Bell should give them a boost them a boost at the plate heading into next year, though the towering first baseman is viewed as a generally poor defender at first (-32 DRS and -19.9 UZR across his career, according to FanGraphs). This trade would make even more sense should the National League continue to use a designated hitter next year. The 28-year-old is heading into his second year of arbitration and is projected to make $6 million in 2021.
As for the prospect return for the Pirates, they received the Nationals’ third (Crowe) and sixth (Yean) ranked prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, in return. Crowe, 26, actually made three starts for the Nats in 2020, posting a 11.88 ERA (12.31 FIP) across 8.1 innings. Before that, he posted a 6.17 ERA in 10 starts in AAA in 2019 after being elevated halfway though the year from AA.
Yean, on the other hand, is a 19-year-old pitching prospect from the Dominican Republic. Noting a recent growth spurt as aiding his power pitches, MLB Pipeline says, “With his stuff, size and delivery, Yean looks every bit the part of a future big league starter.” Yean has yet to play above Short-A ball.
