Bell ready to lead young players for whom he was once traded

It’s rare for a player to be traded away and then return to that same team later in his career. It's even rarer still for that to happen and the player becomes teammates with the players he was once traded to acquire.

That will be the case when Josh Bell reports to West Palm Beach for the second time in his career next month. He’ll be back in the clubhouse where he last reported ahead of the 2022 season, only this time he’ll be joined by young players to whom he’s forever linked but have never before been his teammates.

Halfway through that 2022 season, Bell was included in the biggest trade deadline deal in major league history. Joining superstar Juan Soto, the veteran first baseman was sent to the Padres for a historic returning package of prospects: CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, James Wood, Robert Hassell III and Jarlin Susana.

Three of those prospects – Abrams, Gore and Wood – will be key figures for the Nationals this season. As will Bell, who signed a one-year, $6 million deal last week to return to Washington 2 ½ years after his departure.

“It's exciting. It's definitely a lot of people that can be household names here very soon,” Bell said of the young talent on the Nats roster during his re-introductory meeting with the media over Zoom. “Just looking from afar, I've heard great things about James Wood. Obviously, I've seen CJ play. Dylan Crews, you name it. You have superstar talent. Guys that have gotten a taste of the big leagues, had some success and coming back for more time. This is when they can continue to take that step forward and make themselves elite in this game. So I'm excited to hopefully help guide and also learn from them. Also benefit from having speed in front of me. So I'm definitely excited. I know that both parties will benefit, myself and them.”

On Opening Day against the Phillies, manager Davey Martinez could fill out a lineup card that has Gore on the mound, Abrams leading off at shortstop, Wood hitting near the top of the order in left field and Bell serving as the designated hitter behind the speedsters. So when Bell takes the field with those three (and possibly Hassell later in the year), his journey from that 2022 trade will have come full circle.

“I think it's gonna be cool,” he said. “I haven't really thought about the strangeness of it. I think it's just a new opportunity. Definitely, I've been a fan of theirs from afar, and I know that at least when we played the Nationals last year, when I was with the Marlins, that was a tough team to beat. I think y'all dominated us during the year. So it definitely wasn't anything where I was like, this team has a long way to go. We definitely didn't solve the riddle of you guys.

“I understand that that's part of the core that took off the way that y'all did the first couple of months of the season, when y'all were really a threat. So yeah, I don't know. I've been on a lot of new teams, put on a lot of different jerseys. I think I'm going to be used to it. I don't know how they'll feel about it, just being younger cats, but I'm sure they're excited as well.”

Sure enough, Bell had a good view of the Nats’ budding stars in his time with the Marlins last year. Overall, the Nationals went 11-2 against the Fish in 2024, including 7-0 during Bell’s time in Miami before he was traded to Arizona. And in his one game against Gore, he went 0-for-3.

Now they’ll be teammates this year. And Bell, 32, will be entering a different situation in Washington than when he was acquired via trade on Christmas Eve 2020. Instead of being brought in to reinforce a veteran team, he’ll now be a veteran leader on a young team looking to compete, a role he believes can benefit both parties.

“I try to be the same person,” Bell said. “I try to lead when I can, when I feel like I need to. But yeah, I had some different guys in the clubhouse over the years, obviously (Ryan) Zimmerman and Nelson Cruz. But I think it's important to realize it doesn't matter how many years you have. It matters the type of person you are. Over the years, I've looked up to Juan Soto, who is younger. To Corbin Carroll, who's younger. Guys that put their career first and understand the importance of the game.

“You can lead in different ways and sometimes you need (to be) nudged here and there to lead. And some people like that role, and some people don't. But I know for me personally, I'm definitely excited to have that opportunity to lead for a young group. Hopefully, we'll be excited as the season goes on.”