The 2020 Josh Bell trade is finally having a positive impact for the Pirates

Ben Cherington has made a lot of trades during his time as the Pirates General Manager, but a significant one that stands out is the Josh Bell trade. The fan favorite slugger was dealt in 2020 to the Washington Nationals for two young prospects.

Wil Crowe was one of the pitchers sent in return, but he did not have a great career in Pittsburgh and is now pitching overseas. The other pitcher they acquired posted an earned run average over five in three consecutive seasons in Low-A and Single-A.

This trade looked like arguably the worst in Cherington's regime, but in 2024, the trade actually began to show some positive life. Eddy Yean, the prospect who struggled for three consectutive seasons in the lower minor-league levels, began the season in Double-A and eventually worked his way up to Triple-A.

Yean's 2024 season has been the most impressive of his career, which made him one of the top relievers in the Pirates minor leagues this year.

Eddy Yean breaking out may be saving the Pirates' Josh Bell trade.

Before being finishing the year in Indianapolis, Yean had a career-best year in Altoona. In 46 appearances, the 23-year-old right-hander posted a 3.45 earned run average with a 1.33 WHIP across 73 innings pitched. He also struck out 65 batters.

One of his biggest struggles has been allowing too many hits, which remained an issue, as batters had an average of .269 against him. That BAA did take a big drop, though, from a .292 opposing batting average from 2022 and 2023.

Yean was also used in high-leverage situations this season. In that role, he had 10 holds and five saves.

All of these improvements this season resulted in Yean going to the next level, after which he performed very well in a small sample size. With Indianapolis, Yean tossed two scoreless innings with four strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.00.

Yean showed a lot of promise in his development in 2024, which is a significant plus after pitching poorly in his first three years in the Pirates organization. He will finish out the year as one of Pittsburgh's players in the Arizona Fall League, and if he continues to develop, the young arm could revive the Josh Bell trade.