With Soto sitting again, Bell returns to roots in right field

Five years removed from his last appearance there in a game, and one month since he began getting early-afternoon reps there, Josh Bell is finally making his official return to the outfield.

Bell, who has exclusively played first base since 2017, will start in right field this afternoon when the Nationals wrap up their weekend series against the Braves at Truist Park.

It's a move that has been in the works for a while, with manager Davey Martinez hoping to find a way to get both Bell and Ryan Zimmerman in the lineup together, but finally came together today with Juan Soto still dealing with a sore right knee and left-hander Max Fried starting for Atlanta.

"The big thing is, like I explained to him, to get Zim in there along with him against Fried today." Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "Try to get as many right-handed bats as we can."

Bell originally came up as a right fielder in the Pirates organization, playing 179 games there in the minor leagues from 2012-14. He made the switch to first base in 2015, but during his rookie season in Pittsburgh in 2016, he did play 16 games in right field.

The 28-year-old slugger has been open to the possibility all summer, recognizing the team's needs, especially after left fielder Kyle Schwarber suffered a significant hamstring strain. He began working in left field most afternoons with instruction from Martinez (a former big league outfielder himself) and third base coach Bob Henley (who also serves as the team's outfield instructor).

Why right field today? Because of Soto's injury, and because there's less ground to cover on that side of the field at Truist Park than in the more spacious left field.

"He's played right field in the past; that's where he played in the minor leagues," Martinez said. "We talked to him about it. He's comfortable playing right field. Being also the ballpark that we're playing in, its shorter distance to the wall, playing the ball off the wall."

Bell actually almost found himself in right field for the bottom of the ninth during Saturday night's 3-2 win. When Zimmerman pinch-hit for Gerardo Parra in the top of the inning and helped ignite a rally that gave the Nationals the lead, Martinez had no more true outfielders on his active roster.

Bell did offer to move to right field, with Zimmerman taking over at first base, but Martinez instead had utility infielder Adrián Sanchez take over in right. It was Sanchez's first major league appearance in the outfield, though he had done it in the minors and prepared for the possibility this spring.

Martinez's message to Bell for today's game?

"Just keep things simple," the manager said. "Catch the ball. Keep the ball in front of him. And when he gets the ball, just hit the cutoff man. Try to get to the ball as quick as he can."

Don't expect this to become a permanent thing, either. Though there may continue to be some matchups that call for both Bell and Zimmerman to be in the lineup at the same time, they're both likely to continue to get the majority of their playing time at first base.

"We'll see how it works out today," Martinez said. "But he's put the work in, and I told him I'd get him in there one of these days. I talked to him last night, and he was up for it. If he can do it, especially against a left-handed pitcher, where we could get both him and Zim in the lineup, it would be great."

Soto, meanwhile, is out of the lineup for the third straight day with a sore right knee. The young slugger did pinch-hit in the sixth inning Saturday night and drew a walk. But the Nationals are remaining cautious with him until he says his knee is fully healed.

"I talked to him afterward, and he still felt a little bit iffy running around the bases," Martinez said. "He didn't feel like he could really get after it."

Soto will again be available to pinch-hit today. Then after an off-day Monday, the Nationals will hope he's ready to return to full-time duties Tuesday in New York.

"He's definitely getting a lot better," Martinez said. "Yesterday he said he felt good, good enough to pinch-hit. I said: 'What about running the bases?' He said: 'We'll see.' When he got out there, he jogged a little bit and said he still feels it just a tinge. So I said: 'Let's be safe. You can pinch-hit again today, and then we'll go from there.' "