Josh Bell is on the open market again.
The MLBPA announced today that the Twins designated hitter’s mutual option was declined, sending him into free agency. The deal carried a $10MM mutual option and a $1.25MM buyout, and Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com reported that Minnesota turned down its side of the option. Gleeman also reported that the Twins declined their end of Joe Ryan’s 2027 mutual option, though Ryan remains under team control for next season through arbitration.
Neither move comes as a shock. Mutual options almost never get exercised by both sides, and they’re often used more as a way to push part of the payment to the end of the season than as a real mechanism for keeping a player around.
That was the case with Bell, whom the Twins signed last winter to a one-year pact worth $7MM. The breakdown was a $250K signing bonus, a $5.5MM salary and that $1.25MM buyout.
In practice, it was built to be a one-year arrangement from the start.
Bell now heads into free agency looking for his next stop. The bat still plays.
In 631 plate appearances for Minnesota this season, the switch-hitter posted an 8.2% walk rate, a 19.7% strikeout rate, 21 home runs and a .255/.319/.419 line, good for a 106 wRC+. It was his fourth straight season landing in the 102-106 wRC+ range.
The question is less about production than fit. Bell is 34 now and will turn 35 next August.
He used to be a regular first baseman, but these days he’s mostly a designated hitter who only moonlights at first. This year he made just 18 starts there and logged 141 innings total.
That narrows the market. Plenty of clubs already have a full-time DH, and the ones without one may want to keep the spot flexible enough to cycle through multiple bats.
Bell will be one of several names in that first base/DH lane, alongside Jake Bauers, Ty France, Alec Bohm, Joc Pederson, George Springer and Eugenio Suárez. There’s also the possibility of options coming via trade, with Alec Burleson, Christian Walker, Rafael Devers, Spencer Torkelson and others potentially available.
Ryan’s option decision is more procedural than anything else. He has already completed two of his three option years, and the Twins still hadn’t worked out a 2026 salary with him by the January arbitration deadline.
Ryan filed at $6.35MM and the club came in at $5.85MM before they avoided a hearing by settling on a $6.2MM guarantee. That split into a $6.1MM salary and a $100K buyout on a $13MM mutual option for 2027.
That fits the way many teams handle arbitration-eligible players. Under a file-and-trial approach, clubs won’t negotiate one-year deals after the filing deadline, and attaching a club or mutual option to the agreement helps preserve that stance. It also keeps the deal from becoming a comparison point in future arbitration cases.
At $9.6MM projected for 2027, Ryan’s option was always going to be a tough sell for Minnesota. The Twins can simply go through arbitration again and should be able to keep his 2027 cost below $13MM.
In Other News...
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What comes next is the part Twins fans will be watching closest, especially in the bullpen, where the front office is weighing several ways to add depth. Taylor Rogers remains a possible reunion, while Adrian Morejon and Raisel Iglesias are among the other arms being discussed as Minnesota looks for help that can stabilize the relief corps rather than simply fill innings. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Suddenly Have A Rotation Decision Fans Will Notice
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King has been one of the more effective starters in baseball over the past three seasons since arriving in San Diego from the Yankees, which is exactly why his name comes up when teams start looking for stability at the top and middle of a staff. Minnesota is not widely viewed as a likely landing spot, but the Twins have enough uncertainty on the mound that a proven arm like King would at least fit the profile of the kind of swing that can change a winter, even if the path to making it happen still looks long. [Read more 🡒]
Twins May Have A Cheap Answer To Their Bullpen Problem
The Twins keep looking for ways to patch together the middle innings after a wave of free-agent departures thinned out their bullpen depth, and one possible answer could come from the trade market rather than the open market. The idea is simple enough: use a lower-tier pitching prospect to bring in a reliever with some upside, someone who can handle leverage without forcing Minnesota to spend heavily or rearrange the rest of the roster.
Any such deal would have to clear a few obvious hurdles first, starting with a medical review and a close look at salary commitment, because the appeal here is tied as much to cost control as to performance. The Giants, meanwhile, have their own reasons to consider moving a pitcher whose future value is still in play, which is why this sort of bullpen swap could make sense for both sides if the health picture checks out. [Read more 🡒]