Why Miami Marlins feel Josh Bell is a ‘perfect fit’ for their playoff push and beyond

Josh Bell has only been with the Miami Marlins for about a week-and-a-half now, but the veteran first baseman speaks as if he has been with the club since the start of the season.

As the switch-hitter talked Wednesday following the Marlins’ come-from-behind win against the Cincinnati Reds, their second consecutive win following a five-game losing streak, Bell responded as if he had been through all of the ups and downs the team has endured through the first four-and-a-half months of the season.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time,” Bell said. “We’ve been in a bit of a rut as of late, but the first half, we were coming back left and right. It felt like in the sixth, seventh inning, at the drop of a hat, we could come back and win games.”

His understanding of where the organization stands and his desire to elevate it to another level have been noticeable from the get-go. The Marlins hope that spark continues as they push for a playoff spot. Miami entered Sunday with a 61-57 record, a half-game behind the Chicago Cubs for the National League’s third wild card spot with 44 games left in the regular season.

“He’s fit right in really quick and it hasn’t taken him long to be one of the vocal leaders in there,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “And then when he produces after being a vocal leader, that’s when people start buying in on his messaging. He’s been just the perfect fit for us.”

The Marlins acquired Bell from the Cleveland Guardians right at the trade deadline buzzer on Aug. 1, sending 2021 first-round pick Kahlil Watson and veteran third baseman Jean Segura (who was promptly released) to Cleveland in return.

Bell, who turns 31 on Monday and is in his eighth MLB season, had struggled with the Guardians, with whom he signed this offseason on a one-year, $16.5 million deal with a $16.5 million player option for 2024. Prior to the trade, Bell was hitting just .233 with a .701 on-base-plus-slugging mark, 11 home runs and 48 RBI in 97 games despite being among the top 25 percent of qualified hitters in expected batting average and expected slugging according to Statcast.

The Marlins were optimistic those underlying metrics would turn into results.

Meanwhile, the trade provided Bell with a fresh opportunity — and, better yet, with a playoff contender.

“I didn’t know what to expect getting traded,” Bell said, “but it seems like all my expectations have been blown out of the water. The energy, even when we were losing games, it seems like you’re right there, just waiting for that big moment.”

Bell has already been part of a few big moments.

Bell had safely reached base in each of his first 10 games with the Marlins, hitting .308 (12 for 39) with a 1.039 on-base-plus slugging mark, four home runs, two doubles, eight RBI and six runs scored. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Bell’s 10-game on-base streak since joining the club is the third-longest for a Marlins’ mid-season acquisition, behind Carlos Lee (11 games in 2012) and Gary Sheffield (13 games in 1993).

Bell became the first Marlins player acquired midseason to have four hits in his team debut, hitting a home run and three singles in Miami’s 12-inning, walk-off win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 2.

On Wednesday against the Reds, he became the first player in Marlins history to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in the same game, first hitting a home run as a left-handed batter in the fourth inning against Reds starter Graham Ashcraft and then as a right-handed batter in the eighth inning against reliever Sam Moll.

He joins Jorge Soler as the only Marlins player this season with a multi-homer game and is one of five Marlins players this year to hit home runs in back-to-back games (also Soler, Bryan De La Cruz, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jesus Sanchez).

Again, all of that is in the span of 10 games with the Marlins.

“Maybe it was that change in threads [and] change in scenery,” Bell said.

And his production on the field is only amplified by his presence off the field. Teammates gravitate toward him because of his upbeat personality, resolute work ethic and willingness to step right in and be comfortable being a veteran presence.

“He’s great. I don’t think you’ll find anybody on any of the teams that Josh has been on say one bad thing about him,” said catcher Jacob Stallings, who spent nine years with Bell in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, including parts of five season on the big-league roster together from 2016-2020. “He’s positive. He’s already talking in hitter’s meetings, talking about his approach and what he’s seen from pitchers and that sort of thing. He’s the best of the best.”

Bell’s acquisition, along with the likes of third baseman Jake Burger and relievers David Robertson and Jorge Lopez, came with the intent of shoring up the roster of a Marlins team that hasn’t made the playoffs in a full season since 2003. Bell has made instant contributions, and he likes what he sees from the group as a whole as it prepares for this final regular-season stretch.

“I think it’s got everything,” Bell said. “We’ve got a couple of power bats, we’ve got dominant arms and multiple options in the bullpen. ... I’m excited. We have just under 50 games to go and we’ll see what we can do with that.”