Pittsburgh Pirates: What to do With the Designated Hitter

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PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 05: Josh Bell #55 of the Pittsburgh Pirates reacts as he rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the ninth inning during the game against the Miami Marlins at PNC Park on September 5, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

Use Josh Bell as the designated hitter

This seems like the most likely course of action for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Potentially even a no brainer decision. When you combine his offensive prowess with his defensive shortcomings, Josh Bell appears to be a prototypical DH.

Bell owns a life time .265/.354/.477 slash line with a 118 wRC+ and an 11.3% extra base hit rate. He is coming off the best offensive season of his career with career highs in home runs (37), wRC+ (135), extra base hits (77), and ISO (.292). However, his defense at first base continues to be a total and complete train wreck.

In his four years at the MLB level, Bell has been responsible for -31 Defensive Runs Saved at first base. He owns a -8.8 UZR/150, and a negative Outs Above Average. It goes without saying that moving Bell off of first base would improve the team’s infield defense immensely.

If Bell becomes the DH, this opens the door for playing time at first base. Jose Osuna and Will Craig would appear to be the most likely to benefit from this. Colin Moran could work his way into a first base platoon as well, if they team decides to roll with Ke’Bryan Hayes as the third baseman right out of the gate.

While using Bell as the team’s DH in 2020 is the most likely scenario, it is not the team’s only option. So, what else could they do?

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