Sports

RandBall: Two things can be true about Twins signing Josh Bell

Only in the vacuum of the Twins’ reality can this be considered a significant move.

By Michael Rand

The Minnesota Star Tribune

December 16, 2025 at 6:35PM

Josh Bell, formerly of the Pirates, was signed by the Twins this week. (Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

In the MLB offseason leading up to the 2024 season, teams doled out nearly $3 billion in free-agent contracts.

The vast majority of that money came from 62 different contracts with a total value of at least $7 million each.

The Twins, in the midst of right-sizing their payroll, did not sign a single player for at least that amount — though they did have four free-agent pitchers sign with other teams for at least that much (Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda, Tyler Mahle and Emilio Pagan).

In the offseason leading up to the 2025 season, teams spent nearly $3.5 billion on free-agent deals, including 64 that were worth at least $7 million. The Twins, again, did not sign a single deal for that much money.

That’s how we got to this bit of information from Monday’s news that the Twins have signed Josh Bell to a one-year deal. Per Bobby Nightengale’s story:

“Bell’s $7 million guarantee is the largest free-agent contract the Twins have issued to a player since signing Carlos Correa, Joey Gallo and Christian Vázquez before the 2023 season.”

I talked about the move at the start of Tuesday’s Daily Delivery podcast.

Here are some expanded thoughts at the start of today’s 10 things to know:

To me, this is the classic “two things can be true” kind of move. I’ll start with the positive: While this deal is still modest by most standards, it is at least a signal that the Twins are not going to have a bare-bones payroll in 2026. It’s a sign that they mean it when they say they aren’t planning on trading other high-priced players like Pablo Lopez or Byron Buxton. It’s at least half of one of their feet stepping into a place that says, “If things go well, we can compete in the weak AL Central.”
Bell has a chance to succeed. He’s a durable 33-year-old switch hitter who should bring credibility to the middle of the Twins’ lineup while garnering plenty of playing time. He surged in the back half of last season.
The Twins have had success with similar one-year deals in recent years. Carlos Santana in 2024 and Harrison Bader in 2025 come to mind. Santana used his one-year deal as a springboard to a $12 million deal the following year with Cleveland, while Bader figures to cash in this year in free agency. Bell and the Twins are probably hoping for a similar win-win outcome.
Now the negative: Even after agreeing to this deal with Bell, the Twins’ payroll is around $100 million (about $30 million less than where they finished in 2025, a 92-loss season). There’s a good chance they will have their lowest payroll in any post-Covid season.
Bell is a subpar fielder, meaning he will really need to hit (particularly when he is used as a DH) to prove his value. Santana and Bader had plenty of defensive value, as did inexpensive 2025 first baseman Ty France.
While pointing out that Bell is the Twins’ most expensive free agent in three years does show a willingness to spend a little, it mostly reinforces how little the Twins have spent after winning an AL Central title and their first playoff series in more than two decades in 2023.
When Anthony Edwards returns to the Wolves’ lineup, it will be interesting to see how many minutes Bones Hyland continues to get. Head coach Chris Finch had a lot of complimentary things to say about Hyland after he scored 18 points in 36 minutes against the Kings on Sunday.
Injuries are mounting for the Vikings. It will be interesting to see which five offensive linemen suit up Sunday and the rest of the season.
I talked about the Vikings and revisionist history on Tuesday’s podcast.
La Velle E. Neal III and I will get into more Vikings topics as well as the Wild’s big swing for Quinn Hughes on Wednesday’s show.

about the writer

Michael Rand

Columnist / Reporter

Michael Rand is the Minnesota Star Tribune's Digital Sports Senior Writer and host/creator of the Daily Delivery podcast. In 25 years covering Minnesota sports at the Minnesota Star Tribune, he has seen just about everything (except, of course, a Vikings Super Bowl).

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