Washington Nationals: Three Players The Front Office Needs To Extend
By Max Rayman
Josh Bell
Outside of Juan Soto, Josh Bell was the National’s most productive hitter last season. He hit .261, with 27 homers, 88 RBIs, and an OPS of .823. Defensively, Bell made major strides posting -1 DRS and a -2.2 UZR. To put it in perspective, he had -6 DRS and a -7.5 UZR in 2019.
Two months ago we discussed extending Josh Bell and our stance hasn’t changed. At the time we wrote,
"After starting the season on the COVID list, Bell took over a month to rediscover his footing and swing. Through his first 53 at-bats, he was hitting .113, with two homers, five RBIs, and an OPS of .464. He struck out 17 times and only drew five walks, but once the calendar flipped to May, Bell finally found his footing posting a .795 OPS that month. June saw the Nationals go 19-9 and Bell was a major reason why. While all eyes were on Kyle Schwarber and his home run onslaught, Bell was silently grinding away. He finished the month slashing .282/.363/.521, while adding nine homers, 15 RBIs, and posting an OPS of .884."
Bell has a year left of arbitration and won’t command a massive payday. Extending Bell allows the Nationals to keep one of their most consistent bats. The team struggled driving in runs and losing Bell a year from now would only make that issue worse.