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Bringing This Player Back Is Considered 'Obvious First Step' for Nationals

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Brad Wakai | Last updated Oct 30, 2025 8:20 PM ET

The Washington Nationals now have their two key figures in place.

With Paul Toboni leading the front office, he decided to hire Blake Butera as the next manager. That is a clear sign that this new era of Nationals baseball is going to be bold, and it's one that should have fans excited about the future.

It will be interesting to see how Washington goes about things this winter after making the hires they did, with all signs pointing to the team wanting to build through the draft instead of being aggressive on the open market.

However, that doesn't mean no outside additions should be made. And in Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report's mind, he thinks the Nationals should try to bring back one of their impending free agents.

Josh Bell Seen As Player Nationals Should Re-Sign

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"After posting a .503 OPS through the team's first 40 games, Bell quietly became one of Washington's best hitters with an .818 OPS the rest of the way. And after mostly serving as DH through the first four months, he became its primary first baseman once Nathaniel Lowe was out of the picture. The Nationals have a lot of work to do to climb out of the abyss they've been in for the past six years, but bringing back Bell should be an obvious first step," he wrote.

There was a lot of excitement when Washington brought Josh Bell back last winter. Not only was there a clear need for offense, but the clubhouse was devoid of veteran leadership. His addition was supposed to help out with both of those factors, which occurred later on after he got past his early-season struggles.

Bell did enough to at least warrant a discussion that he could be back with the Nationals in 2026. However, would it be smart for them to re-sign the veteran slugger?

Hole at First Base Could Be Filled by Josh Bell

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I'm still of the belief that Washington should go after one of the high-profile first basemen this winter like Pete Alonso or Josh Naylor. Without a clear-cut option in place on the major league roster or coming up the pipeline, getting that important position solidified would do wonders for this team. Unfortunately, the likelihood of that actually happening seems slim, which is where the possibility of bringing Bell back for another season comes into play.

If the Nationals aren't able to land the big fish like Alonso or Naylor, then it would make a ton of sense for them to reunite with Bell instead of bringing in yet another stopgap solution like they did with Nathaniel Lowe and Joey Gallo, previously.

Bell is familiar with the clubhouse and young players, so keeping him around under such an inexperienced big league manager like Butera could be a plus for everyone involved. That would also give Toboni and his front office more time to figure out who is going to be their long-term option at first base, which is desperately needed.

Because of that, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Bell back in 2026.