First baseman Josh Bell has been traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Washington Nationals, it was announced Thursday.
In return, the Pirates will get young pitchers Wil Crowe, who made his debut with the Nats in 2020, and Eddy Yean.
“We are thrilled to be adding a player of Josh Bell’s caliber to our team,” Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said in a statement. “He adds a switch-hitting power bat to our lineup. And we know Josh will be an outstanding addition to our clubhouse and our community.”
Coming off a 2019 season in which he set career highs in almost every offensive category, Bell, 28, regressed during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, hitting .226 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs.
He made his first All-Star team in 2019, hitting .277 with 37 home runs and 116 RBIs, and got a hefty pay bump to $4.8 million while avoiding arbitration in January.
In five seasons, all with the Pirates, Bell has a .261 career batting average with 86 home runs and 309 RBIs.
Crowe, 26, went 0-2 with an 11.88 ERA in three starts for the Nationals. Yean, 19, is 3-5 with a 4.70 ERA in 20 starts in Washington’s farm system.
