As the Washington Nationals wrapped up their weekend series against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, a game that felt completely winnable was suddenly lost, at least partly due to another questionable managerial decision by Nationals manager Davey Martinez.
In the 9th inning, the Nationals had the top of their order coming up against righty Ryan Walker, a late-inning reliever who lost his hold on the closer's job after numerous struggles this season, and things got started off on the right foot. CJ Abrams started the inning with a double, getting himself into scoring position with zero outs and the Nationals only down 3-1.
Up next was supposed to be Amed Rosario, who was in the lineup due to his knack for demolishing left-handed pitching. Lefty Robbie Ray started the game for San Francisco, but with the righty Walker on the mound, Martinez went to his bench to pinch-hit for Rosario, only to make an extremely head-scratching decision.
Instead of having infielder Jose Tena pinch hit, who would've given you a lefty to go up against Walker, he chose to bring in Josh Bell, who has been literally one of the worst hitters in baseball so far this season. And what did Bell do against a struggling reliever with a runner in scoring position? He swung at the first pitch and flew out to left field, completely wasting an at-bat with the heart of the order coming up behind him.
While Abrams did eventually get brought home by a James Wood double in the next at-bat, the Nationals would ultimately fall 3-2, in part because of the questionable decision to go to Bell in that spot.
Unfortunately for Bell, this has been the story of his season, as far too often he has been an ultimate rally killer, and his abysmal slash line is a direct reflection of his struggles. He has just 23 hits in 170 plate appearances, and has a 24% strikeout rate to boot. The counting numbers aren't great, with just 6 homers and 15 RBIs to go along with a .153/.253/.293 slash line that has him good for only a .546 OPS.
For a guy who offers you nothing in the field, those numbers are absolutely unacceptable for a DH in a serious lineup. Being worth -0.8 WAR according to Baseball Reference while rarely playing in the field is pretty unfathomable to be able to do, but unfortunately for the Nationals, Bell has done just that. Fortunately for Bell, his noted great presence in the clubhouse and track record of success in a Nationals uniform will keep him on the team for longer than he should at this point, but the fact he is still on the roster as of right now should tell you about how serious the Nationals are about competing this season.
Davey's quote in the postgame did little to reassure fans that change was coming soon, saying, "If we get [Josh Bell] going, he is a difference-maker for this lineup." While I can't exactly say that Martinez is wrong for saying that he would be a difference-maker if he were to ever get going, can we really look at what he's done so far this season and justify him being on a big league roster?
The answer to that is no. If you look at the calendar, we are now less than a week away from the calendar turning to June, and it would take a borderline miracle for Bell to be worth anything at all at the trade deadline. If the Nationals were smart, they would quit trying to force Josh Bell to be a valuable part of the lineup, and just accept that there are better alternatives out there like Andres Chaparro who could step in (once healthy), and at least give you more competitive at-bats.
Hopefully, for the sake of the club, Bell's days will be numbered, and the team continues to emphasize the youth movement and brings up top hitting prospect Brady House to help out the lineup as well. I would love if Josh Bell was able to turn it around, as he really seems like a great person and has had some great days in a Nationals uniform, but unfortunately the team can not keep wasting a roster spot on him any longer.
Do you think Josh Bell has any business still being on the Nationals roster? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.