Guardians trade Josh Bell to Marlins

By Nathan Leko

Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images

August 1, 2023

The Trade

On Tuesday, right before the trade deadline, the Cleveland Guardians traded first-baseman/designated hitter, Josh Bell, to the Miami Marlins. In exchange, Cleveland received veteran infielder, Jean Segura, and prospect infielder Kahlil Watson. Segura will be released prior to reporting.

Details

Despite being in a very tight race for the AL Central lead (1 game back) with the Minnesota Twins, the Guardians continued to sell their offense. This move comes after Cleveland dealt starting pitcher, Aaron Civale, to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. Next season, Bell has a player option for $16.5 million. Bell is hitting .233/.318/.383 with 11 home runs and 48 RBI this season.

Bell had a breakout year for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019, slashing .267/.367/.569 with an OPS of .936, 37 homers and 116 RBI. The COVID-shortened 2020 season was not great for Bell, but he resurged in 2021 for the Washington Nationals only to be traded to the San Diego Padres in 2022. He has not been the same player since that trade and will look for another resurgence with the Marlins.

Segura is owed the rest of this season’s salary, $8.5 million next season, and a $2 million buyout for 2025. Segura’s hitting .219 with 21 RBI and three home runs. Look for Segura to be picked up soon by a playoff-competing team.

All in All

The Guardians have been in need of offense all season. Their pitching rotation has been the reason for most of the team’s success throughout the season. Trading Bell depletes the team’s offense moving forward, as the team’s already towards the bottom of the majors in offense. By adding Watson along with Kyle Manzardo yesterday from Tampa Bay in the Civale deal, they add young talent. Hopefully, these guys work out within the next couple of years, or maybe immediately.

For Miami, they add a needed bat while moving on from a bad 33-year-old Segura contract. Both teams made moves they feel will keep their teams in the playoff race, and potentially make a run for the league championship.