Josh Bell’s homers help Marlins move ahead of Reds in wild-card race: ‘He’s fit right in’ – Beragampengetahuan

CINCINNATI — The trade deadline, veteran Miami Marlins catcher Jacob Stallings noted Wednesday, can be “weird.”

Stallings was in the lineup this year on Aug. 1 for a game scheduled to start just 40 minutes after the deadline passed. The Marlins had already gotten third baseman Jake Burger earlier in the day and closer David Robertson a couple of days earlier.

Then, as Stallings was getting ready for Sandy Alacantra’s start, he heard the Marlins had made a trade to acquire his former teammate in Pittsburgh, Josh Bell. The news broke on Twitter at 6:09 p.m. and the Marlins didn’t announce it until after the first pitch.

“I was kind of shocked,” Stallings said of hearing the news before the game.

As Stallings was processing Bell, he looked into the stands and saw his wife, Amy Beth.

“She just had this huge smile on her face during the game because she knew we just traded for him,” Stallings said. “We’re big Josh Bell fans.”

There were a few more fans in the Marlins’ clubhouse Wednesday after Bell hit two homers — one from each side — in the Marlins’ 5-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, including a three-run homer to tie the game in the eighth inning.

Bell had four hits and drove in two in his first game as a Marlin, a walk-off victory over the Phillies on Aug. 2. But Miami then went on a five-game losing streak, snapped that Tuesday and then turned things around to win Wednesday, taking the three-game series in Cincinnati and pulling ahead of the Reds in the wild-card race.

“He’s fit right in really quick and it hasn’t taken him long to be one of the vocal leaders in there,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “And then when he produces after being a vocal leader, that’s when people start buying in on his messaging. He’s been just the perfect fit for us.”

Bell had a disappointing season with Cleveland, hitting 11 homers for the Guardians while putting up a .701 OPS. In his eight games with the Marlins, he’s hit three homers — including becoming the first player in franchise history to homer from both sides of the plate on Wednesday — and has an OPS of 1.077.

Schumaker said the team had been looking for a hitter who could bat in the middle of the order and Bell’s ability to switch-hit was an added bonus. Bell hit his first home run Wednesday left-handed off of Reds starter Graham Ashcraft, for the only run off of the right-hander. Then, with his team down three runs and two on with two outs in the eighth inning, Reds manager David Bell (no relation) brought in left-hander Sam Moll to turn Josh Bell around. The day before, the Marlins’ Bell doubled off of Moll. On Wednesday, Bell jumped on Moll’s first pitch for the game-tying home run. The Marlins’ Bryan De La Cruz hit a leadoff homer off of Reds All-Star closer Edwin Díaz in the ninth to give Miami the lead.

Josh Bell ties the ball game with his second bomb of the day. 💣

(beragampengetahuan X @Adobe) pic.twitter.com/nSLJGhlVs2

— beragampengetahuan (@beragampengetahuan) August 9, 2023

As the Marlins approached the trade deadline, Schumaker said the organization talked to several people — former teammates, coaches and others in the game — and all the reviews came back positive.

“Everybody said this guy had a 10-out-of-10 character and was a hard worker,” Schumaker said. “He gives you everything he’s got. He’s a winning player. Once you hear ‘winning player’ that’s what we’re trying to add here. The culture we’re trying to create is a winning atmosphere and that’s why I think he blends in so well.”

Stallings first played with Bell as a minor leaguer in 2014 at High-A Bradenton, three years after Bell was drafted by the Pirates and two years after Stallings was taken by the Pirates in the draft. Both debuted in the big leagues in 2016 with the Pirates.

Stallings, 33, won the National League Gold Glove in 2021 and then was traded to the Marlins that offseason. Bell had been traded to Washington the offseason before, then traded again last August to the Padres in the Juan Soto deal and signed with Cleveland as a free agent this offseason, before being moved to Miami this month.

“He’s great. I don’t think you’ll find anybody on any of the teams that Josh has been on say one bad thing about him,” Stallings said. “He’s positive. He’s already talking in hitter’s meetings, talking about his approach and what he’s seen from pitchers and that sort of thing. He’s the best of the best.”

Like Stallings, Bell came up to a Pirates team that featured Andrew McCutchen, Josh Harrison and David Freese. It was those veterans who taught Bell how to be a big leaguer and what it meant to be a good teammate.

“I knew the importance of taking care of a work day, showing up on time and how important winning is, how important postseason baseball is,” Bell said. “I feel like I learned from the best at a young age and hopefully those guys rubbed off on me.”

This Marlins team is a mixture of young and old. Bell is one of 12 players on the current roster 30 or older, while there are six players 25 or younger. Bell is one of only two of the regular position players who have reached free agency, along with Jorge Soler.

“I think it’s got everything — we’ve got a couple of power bats, we’ve got dominant arms and multiple options in the bullpen,” Bell said of his new team. “I really like the idea of having a lot of lefties in the bullpen, turning guys around, a lot of lefty-lefty matchups. So I’m excited. We have just under 50 games to go and we’ll see what we can do with that.”

(Photo: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)