Josh Bell (belljo01)

Joshua Lee Bell

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 220 lb.
• High School Santaluces High School
• Debut July 1, 2010
• Final Game June 26, 2012
• Born November 13, 1986 in Rockford, IL USA

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Biographical Information

Josh Bell reached the majors in 2010 and saw time in three seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Orioles.

Bell was taken in the 4th round of the 2005 amateur draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers, their second position player after Ivan DeJesus Jr.; the signing scout was Manny Estrada. He hit .318/.399/.395 for the GCL Dodgers, finishing 6th in the GCL in average. In 2006, he went from one homer to 12, batting .308/.367/.544 for the Ogden Raptors with 53 RBI in 64 games. He was third in the Pioneer League in homers, behind Chris Carter and Chris Errecart, and was named the league's All-Star third baseman. Baseball America rated him the #9 Dodgers prospect and #2 in the Pioneer League, behind Bryan Morris and followed by Héctor Gómez and Sean O'Sullivan. Bell split 2007 between the Great Lakes Loons (.289/.354/.470, 15 homers in 398 at bats) and the Inland Empire 66ers (.173/.203/.307) before finishing the year with the West Oahu CaneFires (.213/.292/.383). His 35 errors at the hot corner led the Midwest League. Baseball America ranked him the #9 Midwest League prospect (between Gerardo Parra and Drew Stubbs) and #10 in the Hawaii Winter League (between Blake Wood and Kris Medlen).

In 2008, Josh batted .273/.373/.455 in 51 games for the 66ers before a left knee injury and subsequent surgery ended his season. Baseball America rated him the Dodgers' #8 prospect and best power hitting prospect. Bell opened 2009 with the Chattanooga Lookouts, putting up a .296/.386/.497 line with 30 doubles in 94 games while fielding .929 at third. He finished 4th in the Southern League in slugging and was MVP of the league's All-Star Game, with a homer, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. On July 30, he was dealt with Steve Johnson to the Orioles in exchange for George Sherrill. After the trade, Josh was assigned to the Bowie Baysox, where the Illinois native had a .289/.346/.570 batting line with 9 homers in 33 games. Baseball America rated him the #10 Southern League prospect, right behind Jeremy Hellickson. That winter, he hit .319/.388/.516 with 19 RBI in 23 games for the Arizona Fall League's Phoenix Desert Dogs. Baseball America ranked him the 5th-best AFL prospect, after Stephen Strasburg, Buster Posey, Domonic Brown and Dustin Ackley, as well as the second-best Orioles prospect. Starting 2010 with the Norfolk Tides, Bell batted .266/.311/.455 in his first 74 games in AAA.

Josh was called up to the O's to replace the injured Luke Scott. In his major league debut on July 1, he hit 7th and manned third base. He grounded out against Trevor Cahill his first time up, singled in his third at-bat and finished 1 for 4. He helped turn one double play at third but also made a throwing error on a Kevin Kouzmanoff grounder. He fanned in 7 of his first 14 MLB at-bats but hit his first two major league home runs on the same day, both against All-Star Cliff Lee of the Texas Rangers, in an 8-6 win on August 21. He finished his first season hitting .214 in 53 games, with 3 homers and 12 RBI. Following a miserable .164/.215/.164 line in 26 games (65 plate appearances) in 2011, Josh was designated for assignment early in the 2012 season to clear a roster spot for Luis Exposito. He saw his last major league time once claimed by the Arizona Diamondbacks, putting together a .173/.232/.269 line in 21 games (56 plate appearances). The D'backs outrighted him off the 40 man roster following the season, and Josh's journey around the baseball world began, seeing time in the organizations of the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees in 2013, then heading to Korea for some time with the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization in 2014. He spent some time on the payroll of the San Diego Padres in 2015, seeing no action before his release, and headed south of the border for a 32 game stint with Veracruz. From 2016 to 2019, he spent his time with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League, becoming a player-coach in 2019.

Sources

• 2006-2010 Baseball Almanacs
• 2010 Orioles Media Guide

Related Sites

• Josh Bell on mlb.com