February 15, 2020 1:06 PM : Bell is working to improve his throwing mechanics at first base during spring training, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.
Analysis: He's throwing from a three-quarters slot in hopes of making better throws from first base to second. Bell ranked last in the majors among 14 qualified first basemen with a minus-18.2 defensive WAR. The switch hitter enters his age-27 season with a reason as to why he feels he slumped offensively in last year's second half (he hit .224 after July 6). Bell claims he struggled because he went from synching up fastballs to synching up breaking balls. "I feel like if you're not synching up to the fastballs, you can't hit either," the slugger noted. "But once I started focusing more and more on offspeed pitches, I just went downhill for a stretch of time." Bell's name surfaced in trade talks, but it's likely the new management team in Pittsburgh will want to see what it has in its players before making any rash moves.