Five Best Potential Trading Partners for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Josh Bell

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DUNEDIN, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Bo Bichette #11 of the Toronto Blue Jays waits to take the field during the spring training game against the Minnesota Twins at TD Ballpark on February 27, 2020 in Dunedin, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays have one of the most talented cores in the game. Most of their starting infield is made up of names whose dads were among the best during the 90’s: Vlad Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and Cavan Biggio. But one spot that might be still in the air come 2021 Opening Day is first base or designated hitter.

Vlad Jr. isn’t projected to be a third baseman long-term. Although he has a rocket arm, having a 60 arm rating by FanGraphs, he somehow registered numbers that looked just as bad as Colin Moran. Guerrero ranked last in UZR (-9.4), third worst in DRS (-9), and UZR/150 (-14.6). His -16 outs above average was the second worst in the MLB, only passing Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario. So needless to say, Guerrero’s future will likely be at first base or designated hitter.

But who could pair with Guerrero Jr. at first or DH? Josh Bell. Bell would provide another very powerful bat in Toronto’s line-up. Currently, the team’s designated hitter is Rowdy Tellez, who although was a decent prospect a few seasons ago, struggled when he was given regular playing time during the 2019 season. While they probably wouldn’t be able to get prospect Nate Pearson out of Bell, I could see top 75 prospect Simeon Woods Richardson being brought up in talks. Richardson, who was acquired by the Blue Jays from the Mets for Marcus Stroman last season, posted very strong numbers. Those include a 3.80 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 2.23 FIP in 106.2 innings of work.

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