We’ll never know if there was a realistic chance of Josh Bell returning to the Nationals for another season, whether the new front office valued him the same way the previous front office did. Regardless, it’s too late now after the big slugger chose a new home for the 2026 season.

Bell agreed to a one-year, $7 million contract with the Twins, according to multiple reports Monday, taking his big bat and popular persona to Minnesota. The 33-year-old is expected to see time both at first base and designated hitter, bolstering a lineup that saw only one player hit more than his 22 homers this season.

The Twins become Bell’s seventh different club in seven seasons, a nomadic career he never desired but has been forced to accept due to a combination of trades and short-term contracts. Originally drafted by the Pirates in 2011, he spent his first five seasons in Pittsburgh, making an All-Star team, before he was traded to the Nationals on Christmas Eve 2020 for pitchers Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean (who recently returned to the Nats on a minor league deal).

Bell quickly embraced D.C. and expressed a desire to stay here long-term. But when the organization opted to tear down the remnants of its World Series roster and rebuild with younger players, Bell wound up on the trading block. He was paired up with star outfielder Juan Soto in the August 2022 blockbuster that brought five prospects to the Nationals, with Bell’s inclusion in the deal necessary to acquire pitching prospect Jarlin Susana.

Bell spent only two months in San Diego before becoming a free agent, and he proceeded to sign a two-year, $33 million deal with Cleveland … only to be traded to Miami during that first year. He was then traded to Arizona at the 2024 deadline before again reaching free agency last winter.

Former general manager Mike Rizzo, needing a veteran power hitter and designated hitter, brought Bell back for a modest $6 million. He was eager to return to Washington and eager to place a new emphasis on hitting for power over average, but that approach produced a major early season slump; through his first 45 games, he owned a ghastly .151/.254/.289 slash line with one double, six homers and 40 strikeouts.

Bell made the conscious decision to abandon that hitting approach and instead focus simply on making hard contact, whether in the air or on the ground. He completely turned his season around, slashing .282/.361/.484 with 16 doubles, 16 homers and only 48 strikeouts over his final 95 games. He also began playing first base daily after Nathaniel Lowe (another offseason acquisition) was designated for assignment in August.

With young players already penciled in at just about every other position on the field, the Nationals entered this offseason in need of a first baseman. New president of baseball operations Paul Toboni has been careful not to offer up any specific details of what he’s looking for, and it’s possible Bell wasn’t the type of player he sought, with better defense perhaps a priority now.

Regardless, there are only a handful of remaining first basemen on the free agent market with Bell and top slugger Pete Alonso (who signed with the Orioles for five years and $155 million) no longer available. The other big name free agent is Cody Bellinger, who is likely to command a nine-figure deal and will be pursued by top contenders.

More affordable free agent options include Ryan O’Hearn, Luis Arraez, Rhys Hoskins, Paul Goldschmidt, Wilmer Flores, Ty France, Carlos Santana, Rowdy Tellez and Justin Turner.

Toboni also could seek a first baseman via trade, with the Orioles now potentially shopping Ryan Mountcastle and Coby Mayo after signing Alonso. He’s also mentioned the possibility of Luis Garcia Jr. seeing playing time at first base, though that would leave second base vacant.

* Toboni made his second trade in a week, this time swapping pitching prospects with the Red Sox. Left-hander Jake Bennett heads to Boston in exchange for right-hander Luis Perales, a deal that was officially announced by the Nats on Monday night.

It’s not only a swap of minor league pitchers, but a swap of minor league pitchers who recently returned from Tommy John surgery.

Bennett, the Nationals’ second round pick in 2022 and former Oklahoma rotation mate of Jake Irvin, had elbow ligament replacement surgery in September 2023 and returned to make 18 starts between Single-A Fredericksburg, Single-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg this season. Rated as the organization’s No. 11 prospect by MLB Pipeline, the 24-year-old impressed with a 2.27 ERA and 1.075 WHIP, though he was restricted to 75 1/3 innings given his injury history.

Bennett proceeded to throw an additional 20 innings in the Arizona Fall League, striking out 25 batters while walking only five. The Nats then added him to their 40-man roster in November, protecting him from being lost in the Rule 5 Draft.

Perales, 22, was signed by the Red Sox out of Venezuela in 2019 and quickly moved up their organizational ladder, producing a 3.31 ERA and 12.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 47 career professional appearances (43 of them as a starter). Boston added him to the 40-man roster in November 2023, and he was ranked the 57th best prospect in the sport by Baseball America in 2024 before suffering his elbow injury.

Perales had Tommy John surgery in June 2024, returning to make three brief rehab appearances late this season. He also went on to pitch in the Arizona Fall League, where he struck out 19 batters in 11 1/3 innings with a fastball that regularly reached 100 mph, though he also issued 11 walks.

Boston’s fifth-ranked prospect according to Baseball America – seventh, according to MLB Pipeline – Perales has already used up two minor league options and now only has one left despite having yet to make his MLB debut. Toboni, though, knows him well from his time working for the Red Sox and appears to believe he’s not only healthy but close to big-league-ready as he joins his new organization.