Not long after Diamondbacks first baseman Josh Bell appeared during the Marlins’ batting practice Tuesday, former teammates flocked to him behind the cage.
“It hasn’t been too, too long,” said Bell, who last played at loanDepot park July 25. Four days later, Miami traded him to Arizona in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later.
“It’s cool to see some old teammates, some familiar faces,” Bell added. “I chatted with some fans last night in the stands.”
Rested in the series opener, Bell wasn’t present at the Marlins’ batting practice on Monday. Instead, he and Jake Burger, whose lockers were adjacent less than a month ago, “were just kind of sneaking glances at each other and did our little handshake from afar,”
Bell said. Bell, Burger, and Marlins shortstop Xavier Edwards planned to catch up at dinner after Tuesday’s game, which the Marlins lost 3-1. Edwards’ RBI single in the fifth inning registered their only run.
Since Bell left Miami, Bell and Burger have texted often. “He’s been on a tremendous hot [hitting] streak, so virtually after every homer I reach out and say, ‘Keep going,’” Bell said. “And he’s like, ‘Hey, when you go, I go. We go together.’” Bell’s wife, Arlia, and Burger’s wife, Ashlynn, text, too.
They’re close friends, their husbands said. Both also happen to be pregnant right now.
“I can definitely tell that after baseball we’ll be making trips with the fam, trying to go to different spots together,”
Bell said. “It’s a true relationship that will transcend this sport for the rest of our lives,” Burger said. The Marlins traded for both players last summer — Burger from the White Sox, Bell from the Guardians.
“The moment we both walked into this clubhouse right after the trade deadline last year, we instantly clicked,” Burger said. “He felt like a big brother to me in a sense. … He really took me under his wing.”
Bell was one of nine players the Marlins traded at, or leading up to, last month’s trade deadline. The list includes A.J. Puk, who was dealt to the Diamondbacks four days before Bell, Jazz Chisholm, Tanner Scott, Bryan De La Cruz, Trevor Rogers, Bryan Hoeing, JT Chargois, and Huascar Brazobán.
“It’s tough when you see some of your leaders go,” Burger said.
At the same time, “it’s cool to see new guys get a chance,” he noted, citing fellow first baseman Jonah Bride. Also, “it’s been awesome to get to know these guys.”
Road games in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and New York have helped this new roster of players mesh.
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“The bus rides to and from airports, and to the stadium, just chatting up and learning about each other,” Burger said. “That’s how you spark those conversations and create those friendships.”
One common interest in the clubhouse: fantasy football. “We’ve got our draft coming up, so we’re really excited about that,”
Burger said. “We take the Wonderlic test [which measures cognitive ability and problem-solving skills] to pick our order. “I think I have the highest score right now.
Everyone’s telling me that’s not a direct correlation to wisdom, wit, or IQ. But I beg to differ.”
Burger said he’s planning a team dinner during one of the away series next month against the Pirates, Nationals, Twins, and Blue Jays.
He quickly noted that “this is Sandy’s clubhouse,” referring to starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara, who has missed this entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery. But he’d like to be one of its leaders.
That means setting an example — like Bell, who’s been “pivotal in my career,” did for him. Burger has certainly led with his bat. Entering Tuesday’s game, Burger led MLB with 14 home runs since the All-Star break while slashing .306/.381/.730 in 29 games.
“You feel this sense of confidence,” Burger said of stepping into the batters’ box. “And it doesn’t matter if you run into a couple oh-fors in a row.
It’s just knowing that you’re dangerous in the box, and at any given chance, [the pitcher] might make a mistake and you can leave the yard. “That’s kind of what I was missing the first couple of months,” he continued.
“I felt like I was missing those mistakes — fouling them off and getting myself in bad counts.
“You lose a little confidence when you’re not able to put those in play. Over the last month and a half, two months, it’s just felt like I get that mistake, and I don’t miss it.”
Conversely, Bell was 0 for 4 Tuesday and is hitless in his past five games. Nonetheless, he’s enjoying a change of scenery. “It’s definitely a spark being on a team that’s in [playoff contention] and hunting,” Bell said. “There’s almost a desperation every night that ‘we have to win this game.’ It’s definitely refreshing.”
The Marlins, meanwhile, lost for the fifth time in six games Tuesday. Starter Edward Cabrera was solid on the mound, allowing three runs in six innings.
Two of the four hits the right-hander surrendered, though, were solo home runs to Corbin Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively.
Both came with two outs. Puk pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings — one of three relievers after starter Eduardo Rodriguez threw 5 1/3 innings — and allowed one hit and struck out two.
