Miami slugger Josh Bell is certainly used to learning new zip codes, but that doesn’t mean he enjoys wearing a different uniform every year. Since the NL-worst 21-40 Marlins dealt two-time batting champion Luis Arraez to San Diego for reliever Woo-Suk Go and three minor- league prospects last month, they have been pegged as sellers before the July 30 trade deadline.
Bell, 31, and Tuesday’s starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo, have been linked as players soon to be traded by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Bell, a switch-hitting first baseman/designated hitter, has played for five teams in nine seasons, including four since 2021 (Washington, San Diego, Cleveland and Miami, after playing his first five seasons in Pittsburgh). “That’s the first I heard of it,’’ Bell said before his RBI triple in the first inning on the heels of a 414-foot home run by Bryan De La Cruz went for naught in a 9-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at loanDepot Park. Bell added a double in the eighth but left the tying run at the plate on a dribbler to the pitcher. “I’ve been part of trade talks pretty much every year from 2020 on. That’s part of the game. It wasn’t the case when I first came into the league and the team had control over me for a long period of time. Once you get to arbitration if your team’s not playing well, it just makes sense to trade guys and try to shoot for the future. I try not to play GM. I’ll let someone else do that and I’ll just play baseball.”
