Pirates to promote Josh Bell to Indianapolis

CINCINNATI -- The Pirates plan to promote first-base prospect Josh Bell to Class AAA Indianapolis Saturday.

Bell is the No. 4 Pirates prospect according to Baseball America. He was hitting .310/.379/.431 for Class AA Altoona, with five homers, 17 doubles, 44 walks and 48 strikeouts. 

Bell has been playing first base for less than a year. The Pirates moved him from the outfield to first base last fall, beginning in earnest in the Arizona Fall League. Talent evaluators I’ve talked to have offered differing opinions on his defense, from He’s making progress, to, He’s got a ways to go, but his athleticism helps him make plays even if his positioning/fundamentals are off, to, He’s just bad. 

Pedro Alvarez is a free agent after 2016. He is making $5.75 million and will get a raise in his final season of arbitration. He is, by any measure, the worst defensive first baseman in baseball. His 15 homers and 15 doubles help him to a 106 OPS+, but both Fangraphs and Baseball Reference versions of WAR have him as a sub-replacement-level player. He strikes out nearly 25 percent of the time and walks less than last year, 8.8 percent compared to 10.1. He has a .307 OBP.

I’m not sure a month and a half at triple-A can convince the Pirates that Bell is ready to replace Alvarez, so the guess is Alvarez stays, but the Pirates have been trying, to some degree or other, to move him since December, with no luck.