Too often, when MLB deals and trades are finalized, some Twitter accounts post pictures of players in their new “threads”.
These pictures are almost always photoshopped (often in hilarious ways) with a Paint drawing of the player’s new uniform.
However, the Cleveland Guardians are gifting their fans a true, authentic picture of one of their new additions: first baseman Josh Bell.
“A real-life, in-person, non-Photoshopped picture of @JBell_19 in the flesh,” the Guardians tweeted.
A real-life, in-person, non-Photoshopped picture of @JBell_19 in the flesh.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/PkY6tAzzbn
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) January 20, 2023
That’s certainly a hilarious way to put it, but we understand why they did it.
It’s always nice to see new players starting their team workouts in January.
It gives them a head start: they will report to spring training already close to game-ready.
Bell signed a two-year, $33 million contract with the Guardians covering the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
However, he can opt out after 2023.
Looking at the big picture, the Guardians will probably want to see him exercise that opt-out clause because it would mean he had a productive 2023 campaign, and they need him to do just that.
Bell was signed to provide some power to one of MLB’s most impressive up-and-coming lineups.
More than pure, raw power, Bell contributes another nice trait to the Guardians’ lineup: the ability to get on base consistently.
He slashed .266/.362/.422 with 17 home runs, a .784 OPS, and a 123 wRC+ between the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Padres.
He hit 27 homers the year before (2021) and 37 in 2019.
If he can go back to his 2019-2021 power levels, Cleveland could be on its way to repeating their AL Central title this year.
Bell could very well be the difference.
NEXT: Guardians Rank Near The Top Of An Important Future Measure