Bell went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's win over the Orioles.
The veteran slugger took Bryan Baker deep in the eighth inning, the last of five Nats long balls in a 10-4 rout. Bell has six homers and 15 RBI in 40 contests, but he's mostly had a miserable start to the season in his return to Washington -- incredibly, he has yet to collect multiple hits in the same game, leading to a .156/.242/.305 slash line.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Sitting Friday
Rotowire
Bell is not in the Nationals' starting lineup against the Orioles on Friday.
Bell will take a break Friday after going 5-for-18 with a 30 percent strikeout rate over his last five games. James Wood will serve as the Nationals' designated hitter and bat third against Orioles southpaw Cade Povich.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Not starting Saturday
Rotowire
Bell isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Cardinals, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.
Bell's early-season struggles continued with an 0-for-3 performance in Friday's series opener, and he'll now take a seat to begin Saturday's game. James Wood will serve as the Nationals' DH with Alex Call filling the void in left field.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Exiting starting nine
Rotowire
Bell is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Guardians.
Bell returned to action in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader after missing the previous four contests with a groin issue. While Bell seems to be healthy now, the Nationals are going with James Wood at designated hitter and Alex Call in left field for Wednesday's series finale.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Starting in Game 2
Rotowire
Bell (groin) will serve as Washington's designated hitter and bat fourth in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Guardians.
Bell has been out since Saturday due to a groin injury and sat out the first game of Tuesday's twin bill, but he'll return to the starting nine for the nightcap. The 32-year-old has struggled to break out of his slump to start the season, going just 3-for-19 with a homer over his last five games.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: On bench for matinee
Rotowire
Bell (groin) is out of the lineup for Game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Guardians, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Bell hasn't seen the field since Friday due to the groin issue, and his absence will extend into Game 1 of Tuesday's twin bill. It's unclear if the veteran slugger will be available for the nightcap. James Wood is receiving another look at designated hitter while Alex Call starts in left field with Bell out.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Remains out Monday
Rotowire
Bell (groin) remains out of the lineup for Monday's contest against the Guardians.
Bell will miss out on a third straight start due to a groin injury. The Nationals haven't provided any indication that Bell could need a stint on the injured list, but he'll need to show improvement in a hurry. For the third straight game, the Nationals will use James Wood at designated hitter and Alex Call in left field.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Out of lineup again Sunday
Rotowire
Bell (groin) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Bell will sit for a second straight game due to a groin issue. The veteran slugger didn't see any action Saturday but was reportedly available to pinch hit, so he'll presumably be available in that capacity Sunday.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Dealing with groin issue
Rotowire
Bell isn't starting Saturday against the Reds due to a groin issue, but he could be available to pinch hit, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
It doesn't sound like the Nationals are very concerned about Bell's injury, as Nusbaum notes that the team is "being careful" due to wet weather conditions. The veteran slugger's potential availability to pinch hit also suggests he isn't dealing with a serious issue. With Bell out of his customary DH role Saturday, James Wood is getting a day out of the field as the designated hitter while Alex Call is getting a start in left field.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Getting rest Monday
Rotowire
Bell is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mets.
Bell will exit the starting nine for just the third time in 29 games on the season after a rough showing in the Nationals' three-game series with the Mets over the weekend, when he went 1-for-12 with five strikeouts. With Bell on the bench, James Wood will get a day out of the outfield and will serve as Washington's designated hitter.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Mashes fourth homer
Rotowire
Bell went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Orioles.
After James Wood led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo shot, Bell also took Tomoyuki Sugano deep in the same frame for his fourth homer of the year. Bell does have 10 runs and 11 RBI in 22 games, but he's otherwise had a rough start to 2025 -- he hasn't produced a single multi-hit performance, leaving him with a feeble .141/.256/.321 slash line.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Resting Thursday
Rotowire
Bell is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Pirates.
With Thursday's game beginning at 12:35 p.m. ET, Bell will get some rest after he had started at designated hitter or at first base in each of Washington's last seven contests while going 3-for-27 with a home run and three walks over that stretch. Bell's absence from the lineup will allow the Nationals to give James Wood a day out of the outfield and deploy him as their DH.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Drives in two runs Saturday
Rotowire
Bell went 1-for-4 with a two-run single in Saturday's 7-6 loss to Miami.
Bell tied things up in the third inning, when his single to left field brought Keibert Ruiz and James Wood across home plate. Bell has gone 3-for-11 with three walks, three runs scored, one home run and five RBI across his last three starts.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Smacks second homer of 2025
Rotowire
Bell went 1-for-4 with a walk and a two-run homer in Friday's 7-4 win over the Marlins.
Bell smacked his first home run since March 30 in the sixth inning, when he took the first pitch from Edward Cabrera deep to right field for a 395-foot, two-run home run. Bell has reached base safely in eight straight games, and over that span he has gone 6-for-24 with seven walks, five runs scored, one home run and three RBI.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Out of Washington lineup
Rotowire
Bell is not in the lineup for Tuesday's contest versus the Dodgers.
It's a routine day off for Bell, who is sporting just a .603 OPS on the season. James Wood is getting a start at designated hitter Tuesday for the Nationals while Alex Call handles left field.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Homers in win
Rotowire
Bell went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Phillies.
Bell was hitless in his first 10 plate appearances this season before opening the scoring with a three-run homer in the fourth inning. The 32-year-old has hovered around 20 homers with 70-plus RBI in each of the past three seasons. He also entered Sunday with a strong track record at Nationals Park, boasting a .291 average and 25 home runs over 152 career games.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Socks first spring homer
Rotowire
Bell went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.
Bell took Miles Mikolas deep in the first inning for his first long ball of the spring. The 32-year-old slugger is expected to be the regular DH for the Nationals this season while backing up Nathaniel Lowe at first base, and Bell posted the best numbers of his career during his first stint with Washington in 2021-22, slashing .278/.363/.483 over 247 games with 41 homers and 145 RBI.
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Nationals' Josh Bell: Returns to Washington
Rotowire
Bell signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Nationals on Sunday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
Bell will return to Washington, where he previously played in 2021 and part of 2022. The 32-year-old played in 145 games between the Marlins and Diamondbacks in 2024, batting .249 with 19 home runs, 71 RBI and 62 runs scored. With Nathaniel Lowe set to hold down first base with the Nationals this season, Bell will likely use his switch-hitting ability to operate as the team's primary designated hitter in 2025.
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Diamondbacks' Josh Bell: Losing at-bats
Rotowire
Bell entered as a pinch hitter and went 0-for-1 in Saturday's 5-0 win over Milwaukee.
Bell stayed in the game to serve as the designated hitter but didn't get any more plate appearances. Saturday's appearance was his first since last Sunday. The September returns of Christian Walker, Ketel Marte and more recently, Lourdes Gurriel, give the Diamondbacks more lineup options, limiting Bell's opportunities. Bell, who had 112 plate appearances during the month of August over 26 games, has just 43 this month with seven games left in the regular season.
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Diamondbacks' Josh Bell: Back in lineup Sunday
Rotowire
Bell will start at first base and bat cleanup in Sunday's game against the Astros.
Bell was on the bench for the first two games of the series, but he'll move back into the starting nine for the finale while Ketel Marte and Christian Walker get the evening off. Though Marte should eventually reclaim a full-time role at second base after being eased back in the lineup at designated hitter in the previous two contests, Arizona likely won't have room in the lineup for Bell against right-handed pitching while Walker and Joc Pederson occupy first base and the DH spot, respectively. Bell should at least replace the lefty-hitting Pederson in the lineup when the Diamondbacks face left-handed pitching.
