Bell returns to D.C. focused on maximining power stroke

Josh Bell first came to the Nationals, not by choice, on Christmas Eve 2020. Traded to Washington by the Pirates franchise that drafted him nine years earlier, he quickly embraced the team and the town and openly spoke of his desire to stay here for the long haul.

That, of course, didn’t happen. And it again wasn’t by his choice. The Nats included Bell in the blockbuster Juan Soto trade, sending both stars to the Padres in exchange for a horde of prospects. And in the 2 1/2 years since, Bell bounced all around the sport.

He finally got to pick his destination as a free agent following the 2022 season and chose the Guardians, who offered him a two-year, $33 million deal. But within months he was traded again, this time to the Marlins. Who one year later shipped him to the Diamondbacks.

Now, at long last after a nomadic baseball existence, Bell finally got another chance to return to D.C. The Nationals were interested in bringing him back. He was interested in returning. And nearly four years to the day of that initial trade from Pittsburgh, he agreed to a new $6 million contract with the Nats, fulfilling a longstanding wish.

“When I initially got traded, I always told myself I was going to come back,” he said Monday in a Zoom conference call with reporters. “I understood the business part of the game, but different opportunities presented themselves. I kind of bounced around a little bit here and there. I was a little bit of a journeyman the last couple years. But I’m thankful for those opportunities. And when I reached free agency again this year, I talked to (agent Scott Boras) and he told me the Nats liked me. I said: ‘If you can make something happen, let’s do it.’”

Bell returns to a familiar organization but to a new role. Having already acquired Gold Glove-winning first baseman Nathaniel Lowe from the Rangers the previous week, the Nationals signed Bell to serve primarily as designated hitter.

It’s a job he’s held only sporadically throughout his nine-year career, but it’s one he’s fully ready to embrace at 32.

“I know the importance of what this team needs is slug,” he said. “For me to dive into DHing, understand that I have to put my body into position to slug, to work out and train, to be able to do that for the team from both sides of the plate for 162 games. I think just putting my effort (solely on offense) will make me the best hitter that I can be. So I’m excited for that opportunity.”

The Nationals made it clear to Bell what they expect from him. A team that has ranked near the bottom of the league in home runs the last two seasons desperately needs more power from the heart of its lineup. James Wood and CJ Abrams (two of the young stars acquired in that blockbuster 2022 trade) have the potential to hit 30-plus homers a piece, as does top prospect Dylan Crews.

Bell, though, is the only player on the current roster who has actually done it in the major leagues before, launching a career-best 37 homers for the Pirates during his All-Star campaign of 2019. He’s seen his power numbers decrease each year since, though, and last season mashed only 19 total home runs over 603 plate appearances with the Marlins and Diamondbacks.

Bell makes no bones about his primary goal for 2025. And it’s not the same goal he typically has strived for every season since he was growing up in Dallas, when he took immense pride in his ability to make contact.

“That’s kind of in my DNA,” he said. “But understanding MVPs the last few years, they hit 40-plus homers and they might strike out 150-plus times, but that doesn’t get talked about. The slug is the most important thing. That’s where WAR is. That’s what wins games. I feel like you get docked more for a double play than you get docked for a strikeout. So that’s something I have to keep in mind. …

“I have a big frame, and I should probably hit more than 19 home runs a season. Hopefully, a year from now I can be looking back on a season where I had 40-plus and break my own records for slug in a season. That’s the goal.”

To pull that off, Bell will have to avoid something that has plagued him throughout his career: prolonged slumps. Pick a season, any season, and you’re going to find a stretch of at least two months (sometimes more) when his numbers were atrocious.

It’s perhaps noteworthy, though, that the best sustained stretch of Bell’s career came in Washington. After a sluggish opening two months to his first season in 2021, he finished his time here with monster numbers over his final 207 games: a .292 batting average, .380 on-base percentage, .879 OPS, 42 doubles, 34 homers and 123 RBIs.

Bell is big on setting daily routines, and when he’s at his best he’s able to stick with his current routine. That hasn’t always been possible when he’s been forced to overcome slumps not only at the plate but also in the field. With the defensive part of the equation no longer a concern, he can focus entirely on his offensive game, which he believes can lead to more sustained success.

“If I can find that routine that works in spring training, and carry it over into the season, hopefully I don’t have to make any tweaks,” he said. “Hopefully I can continue to build on this routine. And if the slug’s there, I won’t have to change anything.”