MLB’s Most-Traded Bat Is Trending Toward Another New Home

It’s hard to think about the Major League Baseball trade deadline and not think about Minnesota Twins first baseman Josh Bell.

After three straight years of getting traded at the deadline, Bell saw a season out with the Washington Nationals in 2025. However, this year, it’s trending toward another summer changing uniforms for the switch hitter.

Marred by his streakiness, Bell’s overall 2026 season doesn’t jump off the page. He’s slashing .243/.300/.395 with nine home runs and -0.1 fWAR across 82 games. He’s never been a productive defender at first base, and this year is no exception in 19 appearances there.

That said, he’s tied for 22nd in MLB with 51 RBIs. He’s also been around the league and has 12 career playoff games under his belt, in which he’s a .295 hitter with two home runs.

His streakiness has been on full display this season for Minnesota. In his first 51 plate appearances, he had a 189 wRC+ with seven extra-base hits. He had a 20 wRC+ in his next 76, with lingering struggles through May.

However, in June, he’s torn the cover off the ball. In 94 plate appearances, he’s slashing .299/.351/.529 with four home runs.

The next five weeks will be fascinating to watch as the deadline draws closer. Several teams in or around postseason contention could use a veteran power bat like Bell.

Stats were taken prior to play on June 29.

Potential Landing Spots for Josh Bell

Arizona Diamondbacks

Kicking things off with a team Bell already called home once, the Diamondbacks have the worst offensive output at first base across MLB. They’re tied for the worst fWAR at -1.1, but have a stranglehold on last place with a 54 wRC+.

The Diamondbacks were the third and final team to acquire Bell at the deadline during that three-year span. He took to the situation incredibly well, posting a 120 OPS+ across 41 games.

He also chipped in five home runs and 22 runs batted in.

The only realistic path to the postseason for Arizona is through the wild card. As we hit the end of June, they’re three games back of the final wild-card slot. They’ve gotten tremendous performance out of Corbin Carroll and Gabriel Moreno, with Ketel Marte coming back to life in recent weeks. It’s been an up-and-down year for Nolan Arenado at the other corner, but they’ve gotten overall nothing out of first base this season.

Bell isn’t going to cost an arm and a leg to acquire. Plus the D-Backs are familiar with the veteran. He may not be a plus defender at first, but he can work into the designated hitter spot with more burn at first overall.

Kansas City Royals

Pin-pointing the fit is a little tricky in Kansas City, but in a bad American League, only a couple strong weeks can turn a team’s entire year around. Entering play Monday, the Royals sat at 35-50 with a seven-game deficit in the wild-card standings.

Much of that stems from the disappointing seasons from Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez. That duo has combined for -1.6 fWAR, a .211 batting average, and a wRC+ of 65.

As mentioned, Bell is an incredibly streaky hitter. This very well might be a mere bandage on a wound that needs surgery. That said, given the landscape of the AL, and the benefit of having Bobby Witt Jr. playing at such a high level, the Royals should be feeling the motivation to try and nudge the team forward.

Athletics

One of baseball’s biggest surprise stories this season are the Athletics. At times, they’ve tormented opposing pitching with their talented lineups. At others, they’ve shown their inexperience and struggled to stack wins.

That said, they’re on the cusp of a playoff spot at a 40-44 record. They’re also only two games back of Texas for first place in the AL West.

Unfortunately, they’re one of the bottom 10 teams in the league in DH production. As a unit, A’s designated hitters are slashing .218/.297/.421 with the No. 20 wRC+ at 95. Brent Rooker was the catalyst of those struggles, hitting just 10 home runs with an 81 wRC+ in 48 games. However, he’s still working his way back from a knee injury that has him still not participating in baseball activities.

Bell gives the A’s lineup someone with postseason experience, something their roster deeply lacks — at least from the position player side of things. Not only that, he gives them some stability from both sides of the dish and, at worst, a late-inning power source in the pinch.

New York Mets

It’s been a year of constant struggle for the Mets, who recently reached a boiling point and fired manager Carlos Mendoza on Friday.

Part of the problem is their inability to replace the production lost by the departure of longtime first baseman Pete Alonso. They tried with Jorge Polanco, but he’s on the 60-day injured list with an Achilles injury. He only got 14 games under his belt for the Mets, two at first base, and they’ve been reeling at the position ever since.

Mark Vientos has 58 games at the position this season, but just a 72 wRC+ and -1.0 fWAR.

The downside for the Mets is they’re not in a position where they have a lot to sell this summer. They have right-hander Freddy Peralta and infielder Bo Bichette as potential trade chips, but not a whole lot otherwise.

Their best bet might be a buy-and-sell, and hoping they’re able to turn some things around. Part of the buying, should they go that route, could be Bell, who would be an upgrade over their current situation at first base.

Cleveland Guardians

Rounding out the list is another team Bell called home, the Cleveland Guardians are a team in need of bats.

Their designated hitter group overall hasn’t been up to snuff, posting an 85 wRC+ and 42 runs batted in through 86 games. In spite of that, plus the struggles of outfielder Steven Kwan, they’re still tied for the division lead.

Similar to Arizona before, there’s familiarity with the player. It wasn’t an overly impressive tenure, but he chipped in 11 homers and 48 runs batted in across 97 games in 2023.

Every year it seems the Guardians are a bat or two short of being a legitimate threat. This year is not unlike another other, it’s only exacerbated by Kwan’s struggles and José Ramírez’s injury. Getting someone in-house they know and has been a stable force in the past at a position of need makes a lot of sense as they try to pin down another postseason berth.