The Strange case of the 2023 Josh Bell signing by the Cleveland Guardians.

Last season, both before and after the All Star break the Cleveland Guardians had a team .700 OPS. The Cleveland Guardians needed at least a .730 to .740 Team OPS to be a true World Series contender in 2022.
 

But, there is a but.

It wasn't the lack of home run power that was causing the team OPS to fall short. What actually happened is the Guardians would have elevated their second half team OPS to a .730 to .740 OPS of 2022, if not for the second half OPS collapse of Jose Ramirez because of a hand injury. Ramirez still managed around a .770 OPS in the second half, which was way below his well over .900 first half season OPS. But Jose Ramirez aside, several other positions under performed in the post All Star Break 2022 OPS category for the Cleveland Guardians.

Despite Straw, Naylor, Miller and the catching position all hitting well below a .700 OPS in the second half of 2022, the Guardians still managed a .700 OPS in the second half of 2022 because of the improving performances of Kwan, Gonzalez, Gimenez, Ramirez and Rosario all being above the .700 OPS threshold.
 

The signing of Josh Bell that replaces any of the aforementioned 5 core players who all hit well over a .700 OPS after the All Star Break is not only a wash, it also means money that could have gone for signing pitching went to fill a hole that was easily filled from within the organization. 

 

Unfortunately, Josh Bell has basically replaced Oscar Gonzalez's at bats, therefore it is a wash in production, but definitely not in salary. Additionally, unlike Jose Ramirez, Josh Bell will not win games with super human base running effort. Jose Ramirez has already had at least 2 breathtaking slides and plays at home plate that probably less than 10% of all base runners would either attempt, or be called safe if they did attempt. 

 

The other thing that is disconcerting is a player can hit 30 home runs and still produce negative offense! If only Bell ran like Jose Ramirez. It will be interesting to see if the Bell experiment on a team built for speed will prove a success. Sportscam Detective is of the opinion the experiment will look good on paper, but not as good in reality. As a base clogger, Josh Bell needs another power hitter hitting behind him to drive him in with all the walks he will get. The only other true power threat appears to be Mike Zuninio, who is just as slow. 

 

I think unless Bell and Zuninio are in tandem one after the other in the line-up, there will be no improvement worthy of the investment put into Bell, the further irony being it will also mean the Guardians will deprive two prospects each of 300 at bats each, finding out.


Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.