To point number one, the Pirates sit 60-66, eight games out of first place and eight and a half games out of the wild card. has their playoff odds at 0.7 percent. They’re far from contention, and their peak in playoff odds over the last month was 15.4 percent on July 21. Since that date, the Pirates playoff odds have constantly decreased, with it increasing to 4.9 percent on August 11, before it has tailed off again. They haven’t been in contention for a long time, yet they still consist on platooning Bell.
It’s not like Bell has struggled against left-handed pitchers either.