Josh Bell’s Mutual Option Declined

Twins designated hitter Josh Bell is officially a free agent, the MLBPA announced today. His contract had a $10MM mutual option with a $1.25MM buyout. The team declined their end of the option, per Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com. Gleeman adds that the Twins declined their end of a 2027 mutual option for right-hander Joe Ryan, but Ryan remains under club control for next year via arbitration.

It’s not a surprise result in either case. It has been over a decade since a mutual option was picked up by both parties. They are mostly put into free agent contracts to delay part of the payment until the end of the season. The Twins signed Bell last winter to a one-year deal with a $7MM guarantee. That broke down as a $250K signing bonus, a $5.5MM salary and a $1.25MM buyout on the option. That structure allowed the Twins to delay part of the payment until now but it was always designed to be a one-year arrangement.

He will now head to free agency in search of his next home. He is still pretty solid with the bat. The switch-hitter made 631 plate appearances for the Twins this year. His 8.2% walk rate was just a hair below average, while his 19.7% strikeout rate was more that two ticks better than par. He hit 21 home runs and slashed .255/.319/.419 for a wRC+ of 106. That was his fourth straight season finishing with a wRC+ in the 102-106 range.

Though the bat has been consistently a bit better than par, Bell’s market may be somewhat limited. He is now 34 and will turn 35 next August. He was once a regular first baseman but is now a designated hitter who occasionally plays first base. He made just 18 starts at the position this year and logged only 141 innings in total.

Some teams already have a full-time DH. The ones that don’t may prefer to keep it open to rotate several players through. Bell will be competing with guys like Jake Bauers, Ty France, Alec Bohm, Joc Pederson, George Springer and Eugenio Suárez in the first base/DH market. In addition to those free agents, Alec Burleson, Christian Walker, Rafael Devers, Spencer Torkelson and other could be available via trade.

The Ryan situation is even more of a formality. He has completed two of his three option years. As of the arbitration filing deadline in January, he and the Twins still hadn’t agreed to a salary for 2026. He filed at $6.35MM and the team filed at $5.85MM. They later avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a $6.2MM guarantee. That broke down as a $6.1MM salary and a $100K buyout on a $13MM mutual option for 2027.

Many teams take a file-and-trial stance with arbitration-eligible players. That means they refuse to negotiate one-year deals after the filing deadline. Tacking on a club or mutual option to a new agreement allows them to maintain they held to their stance. Including those options also prevents those agreements from being used as comps in future arb cases.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Ryan for a $9.6MM salary in 2027. In that context, it makes sense for the Twins to turn down the option. They can go through the arb process with him again and should be able to pay him less than $13MM next year.