Twins sign first baseman Josh Bell

Josh Bell (Joe Glorioso/All Pro Reels, Wikimedia Commons)

The Minnesota Twins have signed first baseman Josh Bell of Irving, Texas to a one-year contract worth $7 million according to Jason Foster and Matthew Leach of mlb.com on Monday.

The Twins are Bell’s seventh Major League Baseball team. He was previously with Pittsburgh Pirates for five seasons (2016 to 2020), the Washington Nationals for three seasons in two different stints (2021, 2022 and 2025), the San Diego Padres for one season (2022), the Cleveland Guardians for one season (2023), the Miami Marlins for two seasons (2023 and 2024), and the Arizona Diamondbacks for one season (2024).

Bell batted  .237 with 22 home runs and 63 runs batted in during the 2025 MLB regular season. In 140 games, 468 at bats, and 533 plate appearances, he scored 54 runs and had 111 hits, 16 doubles, one triple, 57 walks, 195 total bases, three sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .325 and a slugging percentage of .417. The triple came in a 4-3 Nationals win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 5. Bell’s most impressive game of the season came own September 8. In this game, Bell had two home runs and two singles, along with six runs batted in during a 15-7 Nationals win over the Miami Marlins.

In 2019, Bell was a National League All-Star while with the Pirates. He had career highs in batting average (.277), runs scored (94), doubles (37), home runs (37), runs batted in (116), total bases (300), sacrifice bunts (seven), and slugging percentage (.569). Bell also had 146 hits, three triples, 74 walks, and a .367 on base percentage. Then in 2022 with the Nationals and Padres, Bell won the National League Silver Slugger Award. He had 17 home runs and 71 runs batted in, and had career highs in hits (147).