Recently, I wrote an article about how the Pittsburgh Pirates need to trade Josh Bell. Ever since writing that piece, I’ve seen multiple pieces about Pirates’ interest in signing the first baseman to an extension, starting with Rob Biertempfel at The Athletic, going as far as MLB Trade Rumors and various Pirates/MLB sites.
That would be a mistake.
One of the arguments I’ve seen is that the front office can restore fan relations by inking Bell to an extension, but it should do the opposite. For a team reluctant to pay players when necessary, to do so for a player that likely won’t/shouldn’t be around by the time the team’s ready to make a run for things would be a headache for the savvy fan.