Trading Josh Bell to Nationals is first major move in offseason of rebuilding for Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates once coveted Josh Bell’s bat so much they took the risk of drafting the slugger in the second round and signing him to a record $5 million bonus to convince him to skip college.

Bell became the face of the franchise, both for hitting majestic home runs at PNC Park as an All-Star in 2019 and for his struggles with his swing and defense last summer as the Pirates finished with the worst record in baseball and fifth-worst winning percentage in club history.

On Christmas Eve, after five inconsistent seasons, the Pirates traded the former All-Star first baseman to the Washington Nationals for right-handed pitchers Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean, a pair of top-10 prospects.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington called it a “difficult decision” he deemed necessary to rebuild a franchise lacking in both talent and depth and put it on a winning path after five consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs.

Bell, 28, provided the Pirates hope with a 37-home run, 116-RBI campaign in 2019 but followed by batting .226 with eight homers and 22 RBIs this past season. He was entering his second year of arbitration, which would have required a raise from the $4.8 million he agreed to last winter, and wasn’t expected to sign a long-term deal.

“It was just very clear to us that this was a decision we had to make,” Cherington said, “and, although difficult as much as we appreciate Josh and respect Josh, our focus more than that is on the Pirates and building a winning team, a team that our fans can be proud of over a long period of time.”

While trading Bell for prospects was met with disgust by a frustrated fan base still wounded from the Pirates trading pitcher Gerrit Cole and outfielder Andrew McCutchen in separate deals in January 2018 and outfielder Starling Marte to Arizona in January 2019, Cherington warned that more trades involving popular players could be coming.

“Likely won’t be the last one,” Cherington said. “There will probably be more.”

Wil Crowe strands two and picks up his first MLB strikeout to end his first big league inning. #Nats pic.twitter.com/t70yKpCKEM

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 23, 2020

By acquiring the 26-year-old Crowe (0-2 with an 11.88 ERA in three starts for the Nationals), whom Cherington said could compete for a spot in the starting rotation this spring, the Pirates appear to be willing to part with starting pitchers. Jameson Taillon, Joe Musgrove, Steven Brault and Chad Kuhl all have been mentioned in trade talks this offseason. Taillon avoided arbitration by signing for $2.25 million in 2021, but Brault, Kuhl and Musgrove are eligible for arbitration.

“In order to fill the talent base that’s big enough, deep enough, dynamic enough to win, we just need to add more,” Cherington said. “So when we have guys that might be at a point in their career where we have less time with them potentially, and there’s an opportunity to add more talent that we have longer time with, those are the kinds of things that we’re going to have to be willing to do, even when it involves someone like Josh, who we really respect.”

Bell was the Pirates’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award this past season for his off-field charity work and using his platform to speak out about social and racial injustice. It was viewed as a big step for the soft-spoken Bell, who had become the most identifiable player on a team that finished in last place in the NL Central the past two seasons.

“People are excited to see the Pirates when we’re playing well,” Bell said in late September. “You want to be the face of the franchise on a winning team. That’s what we all strive to be. We strive to be winners. That’s the most important thing.”

Bell carried the Pirates into contention in May 2019, when he was named NL player of the month after hitting .390 with 12 doubles, 12 home runs, 31 RBIs and a club-record 94 total bases. But he followed that by batting .208 in June and .218 in July and finished the second half with a .233/.351/.429 slash line with 10 homers and 32 RBIs in 55 games while shuffling from third to sixth in the lineup.

Bell’s struggles continued this past season, when he hit .212 with four homers and 19 RBIs through the first 31 games. He earned a reputation for tinkering with his stance and, for all of his work, never appeared comfortable fielding at first base. He dropped his throwing motion to a sidearm in spring training and even lower as the season continued.

“I feel like I’ve shown at times who I can be on a regular basis, and I’m a glass that’s like, the glass is half full,” Bell said. “I feel like in regards to my career and where it can go from here, this season as a whole was such a learning experience for me. There’s one thing you can’t take away from me is that hunger and that desire to be the best player on the field, hit the hardest ball in the game and make the play when it comes to me. That’s what’s driving me.

“I don’t really know what my stats are, but in regards to my career, I feel like I can be more than a .260, .270 hitter. I definitely want to be a guy that drives in 100 runs every year. In regards to the homers, I know that’ll take care of itself. Just an overall pure hitter, that’s the first thing that I want to aspire to be next year — not necessarily power but pure, you know, line drives to all fields and just being on time on a regular basis. That’s what I strive to do.”

Instead, the Pirates will turn to the likes of converted third baseman Colin Moran and the versatile Phillip Evans at first base as Bell heads to Washington in hopes of living up to the promise of becoming the big bat in the middle of the lineup on which the Pirates once banked so heavily.

The #Pirates are acquiring Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean from the #Nats for Josh Bell, per @Feinsand. Crowe and Yean are Nos. 3 and 6 on the @Nationals' Top 30 Prospects list: https://t.co/CYGaOkpFjQ pic.twitter.com/xdXXrVuxLN

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) December 24, 2020

Wil Crowe

Scouting report: A 2017 second-round pick out of South Carolina, the 26-year-old Crowe was ranked the Nationals’ No. 3 prospect by MLB.com and No. 10 by Baseball America and projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter. The 6-foot-2, 228-pounder throws a four-seam fastball and an above-average changeup. Started three games last season, going 0-2 and allowing 11 earned runs on 14 hits with eight walks and eight strikeouts. In 2018, Crowe was 11-0 with a 2.69 ERA at High-A Potomac and was named the Nationals’ co-minor league pitcher of the year. In 2019, he pitched 1491⁄3 innings across Class Double-A and Triple-A, going 7-10 with a 4.70 ERA.

Ben Cherington: “I think he’s certainly at a point in his career where he can be a factor in 2021 and have an opportunity to earn more opportunity over time. He’s got the pitches and the know-how and the physical characteristics and the history that suggests he can be a starting pitcher in the major leagues, and we still see some improvement opportunities for him, and looking forward to getting him in our system and working with him.”

Eddy Yean

Scouting report: The 19-year-old Yean signed for $100,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2017, and was ranked the Nationals’ No. 6 prospect by MLB.com and No. 8 by Baseball America. The 6-foot-1 Yean, who has bulked up from 180 pounds to a muscular 230, has a fastball that touches 97 mph and a slider with potential. Compiled a 3-5 record with a 4.70 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 90 innings over 20 starts across all levels in 2019. Didn’t pitch last summer after the minor league season was canceled but was called “impressive” in the Instructional League this fall by Baseball America.

Ben Cherington: “Big, physical kid from the DR who kind of came on the scene in 2019 in short season, and his stuff started popping. He’s got a really good fastball, mid-90s velocity, but just a lot of life. One of those fastballs that just moves a lot. Shows potential of a really good slider, change-up is developing. He’s a strong, physical kid who we think has a chance to be durable. All the reports we did in terms of the background work were really positive, so looking forward to getting to know him.”