It’s almost fitting that Baltimore Orioles third baseman Josh Bell made his major league debut just as Erik Bedard is set to rejoin the Seattle Mariners‘ rotation next week. Why? Let’s just say that the Orioles’ trade of Bedard to the Mariners is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only did the O’s get Adam Jones and Chris Tillman in that Bedard deal, but they also got a season and a half of George Sherrill before sending him to the Dodgers for Bell. Bell was a fourth-round pick in the 2005 draft out of a Florida high school, and he put together his best season as a pro in 2009. The 23-year-old had weight problems and questions about his work ethic and dedication earlier in his career, but those issues are gone. He rebounded strong from a 2008 knee injury to hit .295 with 20 homers, 35 doubles, a .376 on-base percentage and a .516 slugging percentage at Double-A last year. A switch-hitter, Bell had a massive platoon split last year, slugging 367 points lower against lefties (.259, versus .626 against right-handers), and some scouts think Bell is eventually going to have to ditch batting from the right side of the plate. Before his call-up, he was slugging 132 points lower against lefties at Triple-A this year as well (.356 vs. .488) in a small sample size.
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