Pirates officially lose Josh Bell trade after Nationals prospect reunion

After an awful 2020 season, the Pirates continued their rebuild by tearing down the roster further than they already had before the season. This included trading veterans Joe Musgrove, Jameson Taillon, and Josh Bell. Ultimately, there were positives from the Musgrove deal, but the Taillon and Bell trades were absolute fails. The Bell trade, in particular, just got even worse as Eddy Yean, one of two prospects acquired in that deal, just signed a minor league deal with the Nationals, the team that traded him in the first place.

The Nationals sent Yean and Wil Crowe to Pittsburgh in their initial package, two pitchers ranked in their top six prospects, according to MLB Pipeline. Crowe made his Pirates debut in 2021 and stayed through the early part of the 2023 season before getting injured. At that point, Pittsburgh moved on; he left for Korea, and signed a minor league deal with the Phillies last season.

Pirates officially lose Josh Bell trade after Eddy Yean signs back with the Nationals

After Crowe turned out not to be a piece for the Pirates, that put a lot of pressure on Yean to save this trade. At the time in 2024, he was entering his first season in Altoona after two lousy years in Greensboro. The promotion was a "last chance to prove yourself" opportunity, and he found success, posting a 3.45 ERA with an 8.01 K/9 across 73 innings.

Yean then got a chance in Triple-A the next season, and while his 3.06 ERA looked great, his 4.97 FIP and 1.60 WHIP killed the campaign's vibes. He got really lucky in 2025, but that unsustainable production led to him becoming a minor league free agent. Now, he returns to the Nationals organization that originally signed him, officially ending any chance of this trade working out for the Pirates.

Almost unilaterally, the trades in the early part of Ben Cherington's tenure with the Pirates did not turn out well at all. At least now he is turning things around, acquiring Spencer Horwitz for Luis Ortiz and taking steps forward. Horwitz's talent was a really good find on its own, but the trade became really valuable when Ortiz landed in significant hot water.

Without the Horwitz trade, it would be really difficult to name a good one from Cherington, and the Bell trade is now finalized as another empty move. Maybe the Nationals can fix up Yean, but he did not have a great career at all in the Pirates organization, just like Crowe.