The Marlins announced the acquisition of first baseman Josh Bell from the Guardians. Cleveland agreed to take on the contract of infielder Jean Segura — whom they intend to release — while acquiring infield prospect Kahlil Watson.
It’s an out-of-the-blue swap that continues a surprisingly active day for the Marlins. Miami shipped out pitching prospect Jake Eder to install Jake Burger at the hot corner. That apparently set the stage for them to move on from Segura, whose two-year free agent contract didn’t work at all as the club had envisioned.
That was a means of adding offense at one corner infield spot. They’ll hope for the same across the diamond, as they swapped in Bell for Garrett Cooper. Miami dealt their incumbent first baseman to the Padres for starting pitcher Ryan Weathers.
The series of moves results in a buy-low flier on Bell. As with Segura, he signed an ill-fated two-year free agent deal last offseason. The Guardians guaranteed the switch-hitter a two-year, $33MM pact. He can opt out of the deal at the end of the first season. It’s all but a given he’ll elect to play out the contract given the way in which his time in Cleveland transpired.
Bell is hitting .233/.318/.383 over 393 trips to the plate. His 10.9% walk percentage and 20.6% strikeout rate are both solid, but his batted ball results are middling. Bell has managed just 11 home runs and a .272 batting average on balls in play. As has been an issue throughout his career, he’s had a tough time elevating the ball. Bell is putting the ball on the ground at a lofty 48.5% clip, an obviously suboptimal number for a player whose game is built around power.
Still, the high grounder tallies are nothing new. He’s had plenty of success in spite of a propensity for low-angle contact. He combined for a .264/.355/.448 line in more than 1200 plate appearances between 2021-22. At his best, he’s a middle-of-the-order caliber bat. Miami will obviously hope for a return to form in a new environment.
Miami general manager Kim Ng and her staff clearly believe there’s more untapped potential remaining for Bell than with Segura. The Fish had signed the longtime second baseman to a two-year, $17MM pact with a plan to bump him to third base. It was a risk defensively that hasn’t paid off, as the veteran received well below-average marks for his 720 1/3 innings at the hot corner.
More concerning, Segura didn’t bring anything approaching his previous offensive form. He’s long been a slightly above-average hitter, combining double-digit homer power with excellent contact skills. This was his worst offensive season, however, as he managed only a .219/.277/.279 showing through 326 plate appearances as a Marlin.
Segura’s underlying offensive marks aren’t that far off those of previous seasons. His 38.8% hard contact rate is a near match for last year’s mark. That’s also true of his 6.7% walk percentage and 14.4% strikeout rate. Segura’s results simply weren’t up to par and the Fish elected to move on.
Given that Cleveland is immediately releasing Segura, his inclusion in the trade is strictly a financial measure. Bell is making $16.5MM this season and next. Segura is making $6.5MM this year and $8.5MM next season, as well as a $2MM buyout on a 2025 option. Bell is owed roughly $5.41MM through season’s end; Segura will make $2.13MM down the stretch. Miami takes on roughly $3.28MM this year and $6MM beyond this season to upgrade from Segura to Bell.
Segura will go unclaimed on release waivers in the next couple days. The Guardians will pay out almost all of his remaining contract. Once he clears waivers and becomes a free agent, Segura will be free to choose his next employer. That signing team would only pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum for whatever time he spends on a big league roster over the next season and a half.
In addition to the financial relief, the Guardians are buying low on a one-time top prospect. Watson, a 20-year-old infielder, was the 16th overall pick in the 2021 draft. The high school product was widely regarded as a top five to ten player in the class on talent, only dropping to the middle of the first round because of a lofty bonus demand.
His first two full seasons in pro ball haven’t gone as anticipated. Watson struck out in nearly 36% of his plate appearances in Low-A a year ago, hitting .231/.296/.395 over 83 games. He also missed some time last season on a team-imposed disciplinary absence after a confrontation with an umpire, as Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote in his write-up of Miami’s farm system.
Watson still ranked in the upper third of the Marlins’ top 30 prospects at both FanGraphs and Baseball America, though he’s no longer seen as a top 100 talent around the league. He’s hitting .206/.337/.362 over 243 trips to the plate in High-A this year. He’s connected on seven homers, walked at an elite 14.4% clip and stolen 14 bases. Yet he’s still striking out an alarming rate — 28% of the time. There’s clearly plenty of variability in Watson’s profile, but he has huge bat speed and the chance to stick at a middle infield position. It’s an upside play for Cleveland at a much lower cost than would’ve been required to pry him away 12 to 18 months ago.
Craig Mish of SportsGrid first reported the Marlins were acquiring Bell. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the Guardians were receiving Segura and Watson. Zack Meisel of the Athletic reported the Guardians planned to release Segura.
Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Nice
Nice to see the Fishy’s active and biting
Indeed, and they get to unload Segura as a bonus
Yeah, but why would anyone want Bell? He was taking ABs from Naylor. They don’t need two first basemen.
Yeah, Burger is rare, and Segura is well, done
Interestingly enough, I could see the Giants picking up Segura for a last hurrah.
@MannyBeingMVP, I went this comical route on the last Jake Burger post and wasn’t well received. I didn’t get any threats except that I was dead meat and they’d stick it up my buns.
Good luck to you fellow poster…
Pretty risky on Ng’s part to get Bell, but I get it. Fish need offense. She works for an owner that has a payroll budget constraint. Bell’s salary fits within it. Streaky hitter but when “on” a producer. In her mind, he’s the “most bang for the buck”. Again, risky. But worth it. IE see Hicks in Baltimore
It’s ring the Bell for the Burger day in Florida!
Looking for some power have they succeeded?
I don’t know
Glad to see they are trying.
Their pitching is to envy, enough to “catch” the Braves?
I do dig these puns though^^
I enjoy them as well… I even brought my shovel.
Ring the Bell, good one!
Best trade of the day ! Let’s gooooo
Trading guys we don’t like for guys you don’t like.
Cleveland gets Jimmy Cigs and a man who was once projected to be the No.1 OVR pick of the ’21 draft, might be alright if the change-of-scenery works
Bell is lost; Watson has lost top prospect status. Ehh.
Yeah, Bell was a big disappointment in CLE this year. He’s durable and serviceable, but don’t expect much in the clutch, and his power isn’t nearly what it used to be.
Cleveland fans were excited to see his name last offseason but it turned into disappointment and frustration over the course of the last few months.
My favorite part of trade deadline day is watching the “overflow trades” come in in the hour after the deadline. Always a jumble because it comes in so fast and fun to sort through.
I thought the guardians marlin trade would be for fry.
Seems they reworked it
You again lol
Really hoping the Fry deal to the Marlins went through ( nothin personal ) just to say Fish and chips
Edp007, I’ve got bad news for you. Are you sitting down?
A limited hitter with a bad attitude who wears out his welcome in clubhouses rather quickly. Chalk up another win for Kim Ng.
She’s the one who signed him in the first place and took on a bad contract for next year to clear him. That’s a win?
He’s being sarcastic.
I can’t speak to his time before Cleveland, but Bell has been fine in the clubhouse.. He definitely isn’t a player with an attitude problem.
Josh Bell is a totally cool guy. His two years with the Nats were going great and he seemed very happy there. Then the Soto trade whisked him to SD, where he looked uprooted and contributed little. Cleveland was a chance to reestablish himself, and, granted, his numbers are mediocre. But if he plays regularly for the Marlins, he has every chance to start producing at his best levels. Josh needs to be in the lineup every day in order to get results. He is also a much better fielder than he gets credit for. Good luck, Josh! (Hmmm…first game with Fish: 4-5 with a dinger.)
He played every day in Cleveland and could never develop any consistency. Cleveland gave him every opportunity to succeed. Once they acquired Manzardo, Bell was not needed.
Speaking of Kahlil, Khalil Greene dealt with SAD and once stated his favorite band was Bauhaus which explained an awful lot.
This trade has huge implications for Immaculate Grid.
Nah nah nah nah hey hey yey gooodbye!!!
Watson is still only 20 yo. One hell of a flyer for Bell.
He can still be something. Bell wasn’t doing anything.
I’ll get rid of my crap if you get rid of yours.
Hold on – someone actually gave up something for Bell???
Yes, and someone actually gave up something for Segura!
I guess the real shocker will be if we could’ve found someone to take Avi Garcia.
Bell is the one with a guaranteed contract next year…. This is a steal for Cleveland
Segura has a guaranteed contract too…although for half of what Bell makes.
But I agree that Cleveland got the better part of this deal with the addition of Watson in it.
Watson a nice prize to go with the salary dumb. Bell at least is still usable and could get hot for a stretch.
Avi has looked good this week, let’s see if he can be useful as the fourth outfielder
He looked good until he had a high pressure situation again, then did his usual failure with a pop-up.
But I admit that he has had some boom off his bat that had not been seen at all since he joined us. We certainly have no choice but to let it play out. Personally, I think he’s showing more and more like a guy that uses something undetecable or not tested in our current PED testing. The thing is he uses whatever it is when he is seeking a contract or, this year, when he sees he’s going to be losing playing time if he doesn’t start doing something. I find it funny that he couldn’t hurt a fly with the world’s largest flyswatter before, then Sanchez shows that he should be starting, Garcia comes back built a little hulk-like, and there is all of the sudden explosive torque coming off his bat, along with increased bat speed.
I’m not complaining because it means that he can go on a run that makes him tradeable. But I’m just making an observation.
The original master of that game was Candy Maldonado in the late 80s/early 90s. He was phenomenal in walk years, but he notoriously coasted in between when he wasn’t on the IL.
braves offer Ozuna twice. braves wanted defense was reason.
While Ozuna is a better player, he does come with his own set of problems. Also, while his issues have been problematic, they could become worse in Miami. The only reason he’s around today was because his wife stopped him from going out with Jose Fernandez the night Fernandez got himself killed.
im not a Fernandez .our high on him like most. after hearing how he acted that night. and knowing what he gave up…
dont support marlins having any future thing to with him. if what was said to be true about him.
Sadly, what was said about what he did that night is indeed true. I actually am friends with a cousin of one of the other guys that were killed in that accident. The other two weren’t saints, and sadly drugs and alcohol historically has situations that end like that, but Jose was the driver of the boat under conditions that even sober and very experienced boaters driving slow could’ve gotten killed in. Sad all around.
And I get you not supporting when the Marlins do those Jose tributes. I personally think that he should be an example of a young kid that threw it all away in one night. It’s sad that sports talks about the survivors of drug abuse/addiction like Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Lawrence Taylor, etc. while pretending that Keith Hernandez is clean while he is quietly kept from his rightful place in the Hall of Fame mainly because of his drug abuse and the Pittsburgh Drug Trials, but don’t really use situations like Jose Fernandez, Darrell Porter, Steve Howe, Hector “Macho” Camacho, Len Bias, etc. etc. etc. as examples of the tragedies that can come from it. And let me not get into how many times other drug abusers/addicts have things covered up or swept out of the spotlight due to nepotism, such as the likes of Dale Berra, and many others from all walks of life in the public arena because x-person happens to be the kid of [fill in the blank famous person]. Look how many athletes, celebrities, and many others have had that stuff swept away because of parents in the public eye – even with one of our former two-term Presidents.
I hate using Kahlil Watson in this trade.
Just like they did with Pablo Sandoval recently, CLE releases Segura before he even has time to book his flight to CLE. No point in even screwing around with him when there’s no place for him to play. Eating the 2nd year of Segura’s deal beats Bell’s player option for ‘24 which he will definitely be picking up. Imo this was a win for CLE.
I get Kahlil Watson is probably not going to work out but you could get a lot better than Bell for him
Great trade for the Guardians
Potentially a top 10 overall prospect if he somehow gets it together
Doubtful, but possible
Watsion was a steal for Cleveland.
Ng is overpaying for some of these deals today.
Eder for Burger and now Watson for Bell.
GREAT MOVE BY KIM NG. She be dealin.
Kim Ng is on the hot seat.
Determined to have thousands of 2nd baseman and 1st baseman..bold strategy
Another guy the uh could have just signed
Finally got rid of Segura, although he actually was finally a little usable this month
I honestly dont see how the series of moves they’ve made does anything to improve the team, and they gave up a significant amount of their waning assets to do so…
Watch Cleveland turn Watson into Jose Ramirez lol
“Watch Cleveland turn Watson into Jose Ramirez lol”
My fingers are crossed
Tough yest for front office. Everyone they gave big money underperformed or worse. Bell, Gimenez, Straw, Stephen and Zunino.
In nurse follars;
I believe Bell has a player option in his contract for $16.5m in 2024.
Cleveland just got rid of the obligation.
That was why they made the trade.
Earlier they traded for a LH hitting 1B prospect from the Rays that may make the majors next year. This is important, as they have so few LH hitters and Josh Naylor plays 1B – their leading hitter in BA, RBI and OBP.
Josh Bell will probably do his typical Josh Bell thing after a bad first half. Wouldn’t be shocked if he all of a sudden caught fire for the next two months.
With Cleveland’s luck, thst just might happen
And with the Marlins luck, he’ll hit into 5 thousand double plays
He GDP 7 times in 347 AB hit 11 HRs OPS was .318, not very good numbers for a player who was supposed to bring more power to Cleveland.
Jean should come back to Philly.
Good utility player.
Can someone tell me what the marlins are doing? Treading water from cooper to bell at best and they gave up kahlil watson to get there? Trading eder for a guy who wasn’t even consistently in the starting lineup all year? They are going all in for a team with negative run differential?
The only upside to Bell as opposed to Cooper is that Bell is durable. I think all of Cooper’s injuries the past few years made the Marlins gunshy when it comes to counting on him for the stretch drive, understandably so.
All of his injuries involved either being hit by pitches or being run into by others…
Kim Ng is so smart don’t worry
Great to see the Marlins acquire the veteran slugger Bell. Puts them over the top. Sorry, I meant to ask what in the f does this accomplish long term? Nothing?
Surprised Cleveland wouldn’t hold onto Segura and try to offload the contract in the offseason. I guess they value the roster spot more, but that’s a hefty price to pay for an open roster spot.
Nobody is taking on a guy who’s only plus tool was his hit tool. And he’s not hitting. This is why gms target guys who walk. Obp doesn’t slump.
They just wanted the prospect and to dump salary.
Salary dump for the Guards??
Yep. And bought a prospect.
Josh Bell has THE widest shoulders of any MLB player I’ve ever seen. Just an observation.
He’s a big dude
Angels might as well take a flyer on Segura since they already brought back Cron and Grichuk.
Unfortunately Bell didn’t fit well with Cleveland despite him being an exciting addition in the offseason. He struggled at the plate and was a once in a while home run threat. Bell didn’t display the same power he once had with Pittsburgh four years ago.
Agreed. And with these two deals there is a potential log jam at first and DH so best to get rid of that salary
Still a bit disappointed they didn’t add a major league bat
Not nearly as disappointing as not adding a major league arm. Oh wait, we needed TWO after dealing Civale.
What a letdown, seeing CLE give up on this year. And make no mistake, that’s what they did, with the team only a game out. Disgraceful.
Tito’s teams have always been slow starters. Who did they give ip two hitters who are sub par and a pitcher who has only started 21 games once in his career. These guys will not get you to the dance. We have a stockpile of youngsters who are ready. It is about time they get a chance to prove themselves. The twins did nothing to help themselves, it’s a crap shoot who wins the division.
I have no idea whether they want to compete or not….
Josh Bell has always been a class act.
I’m sure his wife is furious with him not performing in CLE seeing as she lobbied for him to sign there since her family was close by. Oh well…we were upset he didn’t perform too. His poor play–hovering around 0.0 WAR–is a major reason this team isn’t in first place.
Wondering who takes Bells roster spot? Do they call up Rocchio?
Cleveland dumped salary , balance of 16M this season, 16.5 next. Bell disappointing.
Miami cut ties with Segura to Cleveland, which eats his contract (half price of Bell.)
3B position now Burger with 25 HR. Bell might help in 1B platoon possibly.
Watson a head case, disappointing his potential. Cleveland could get lucky and if so, add him to deepest depth on roster. Improvement by Watson increases his re-trade value.
Cleveland dumped salary, taking a flier on Watson. Cleveland quit in 2023.
It was in the Civale trade article and Rsox and I said same thing before you did. All you did was copy us. Not that I want my gold star.
Nice job Guardians with the 3 trades. I’m only disappointed that they still have Miles Straw.
He’s doing better than last year and they signed him long term so he wasn’t moving anywhere. You’re not alone with your thoughts though.
Seems odd, It feels like both players have very little value, but Miami is picking up another $6M in salary plus a $2M buyout, and threw in Watson?
I wouldn’t mind having Segura on the Cardinals as a bench infielder and call up Winn!!
Isn’t the top third of the Top 30 the Top 10?
Has anyone been traded more times than Josh Bell?
Yes.
About 250 guys.
$16.50
– $ 8.50
————-
$ 8.00
Guardians save 8 million next year, not six. Total 11 1/2 .
Plus $2.0 m buyout on his 2025 salary. They save 6.0 m.
Yeah, I missed that the first time. Good correction.
Wow.. I did not think Bell was movable at this point. Best of luck to him in Miami though. Hopefully a change of scenery does him good.
Perhaps you could tell us what is wrong with the Tigers and their genius Ivy League CEO, Scott Harris? And what can we do?
Give him time. Hit me up before you make any trades or sign someone.
Segura was actually hitting a little better in July (.277 batting average). He may be able to help someone down the stretch for the league minimum
Segura back to the Phillies.
Boy the Fish blew that game ruining Alcantara’s gem. De La Cruz should have caught that shot from Harper.
unfathomable, and it’s not the first time. the Phillies always seem to get late action even in the contests where Alcantara pitches well.
I don’t think starting a sentence with “more concerning” is correct. It needs to be “more concerningly,” I’m pretty positive.
Looking forward to “quintuple-J” following Arraez in the lineup:
Jazz Chisholm – CF
Jorge Soler – DH
Jake Burger – 3B
Josh Bell – 1B
Jesus Sanchez – RF
Add to it De La Cruz, Fortes and Berti, and it will be a decent offense.
Backups Stallings, Wendle, Garcia and Gurriel. Avisail looks good this week, maybe he can be a useful but way overpaid fourth outfielder. More importantly, Alcantara found his mojo today.
Bell was in the starting lineup before being traded. Bell is from Texas and had a big contingent of family and friends at the game. Bell was taking batting practice when they had to pull him off the field and tell him of the trade. So I’m guessing Cleveland had no plans to trade him, and the trade was initiated by Miami?
Oscar Gonzalez was substituted in Bell’s place. Oscar’s walk “saved” the Guardians from a perfect game.
This trade is a brilliant move for Miami. Salute!
For about $7 mil, the Marlins got a decent (not great) switch hitting 1B/DH for the stretch run and next season. Bell may not be the best around, but he’s worth a lot more than that…and there is some upside.
In return, they gave up nothing they wanted. Watson is addition by subtraction, a former first rounder that Miami wanted to drop like a hot potato. Segura was obviously a non factor.
For Cleveland, its a good trade, too…IF you dont factor in its demolishing of its playoff hopes. They save a decent amount of cash for a franchise that always seems to act with an eye on the petty cash drawer. But thats it, a money move. The absolute last thing Cleveland needed was a left handed SS prospect with a really bad attitude. The Guards presently have six shortstops on its 40 man roster, none over 25 years old. All are reasonably on track to hit MLB next year, if they aren’t presently in Cleveland. And the org avoids bad attitudes like the black plague. They are the anti Oakland Raiders. The odds of Watson ever wearing a Guards uniform in a regular season game are microscopic.
5 million marlins only pay bell rest of season..
Bell’s 90.3 exit velocity is his highest since 2021 marlins seen upside to that.’ i see more double then hr in marlins park. if swing stay same.
Jean Segura was dead from start of the deal . he was not going have more power then brain anderson.
301 ab cant say he was not giving playing time.
defense was getting worst also .
Jean Segura was a deal I dislike from the start looking at his numbers vs brain anderson last year and 3 years.
i guess Joey Wendle new measuring stick . your war should not be worst then his . when getting paid. under kim .
if jeter was still hear they keep Jean Segura like lewis brison. lol joke i read.
I know Segura did not met expectations at all, but it’d be pretty funny if Cleveland is paying his entire contract and Miami just picks him back up for the league minimum. I wonder if that’s ever happened. Can’t imagine it has but really curious