We’re going to talk a lot about Josh Bell this summer, as there is only one guarantee in this whole situation: if he does actually sign, it won’t happen before August 15th. Here is one interesting update, along with some video of Bell.
-Baseball Prospectus talked about Bell in their podcast, focusing on his letter to teams telling them not to draft him (podcast here, talk starts at 52:56, h/t to OBN). Apparently there were reports that the Red Sox and Tigers would draft him, although no one expected the Pirates to take him. Keith Law mentions that his family is well off, and that it’s his family that doesn’t want him to sign. Law, who was a guest on the podcast, mentions it might take $8 M, which would be near Bryce Harper money.
The most interesting note was in reference to the letter. Kevin Goldstein threw out a rumor saying that MLB offered to make Bell ineligible for the draft, and that his mom said no. He said it was only a rumor, and not confirmed. However, it does raise the question: if Bell really didn’t want to be drafted, why didn’t he just send a letter to MLB asking to be made ineligible?
-Here’s a few videos for those of you who haven’t seen Bell. Really nice, smooth swing. Very quick hands as well:
