Former All-Star slugger Josh Bell is entering free agency after the Minnesota Twins declined their side of a mutual option on the designated hitter.
Twins insider Aaron Gleeman reported the news on Friday, ending a one-year arrangement that had included a $10 million option for 2027 along with a $1.25 million buyout.
The Twins also declined a mutual option on starter Joe Ryan, though Ryan remains under team control through the arbitration process.
Mutual options of this kind almost never survive both sides of the decision. More than a decade has passed since the last one was exercised by team and player alike.
Clubs typically insert them into free-agent deals mainly to push part of the compensation into the following year, and the structure around Bell’s contract followed that pattern.
Minnesota guaranteed him $7 million last winter—a $250,000 signing bonus, a $5.5 million salary, and the buyout—knowing the arrangement was designed as a single season of employment.
Bell delivered the steady, slightly above-average production expected of him.
Across 631 plate appearances, he walked at an 8.2 percent rate, struck out only 19.7 percent of the time, and launched 21 home runs while hitting .255/.319/.419.
That line translated to a 106 wRC+, his fourth consecutive season in the 102-to-106 range. He drove in 96 runs and appeared in 154 games, providing consistent middle-of-the-order production even if the overall impact remained modest.
At 34 years old, with his 35th birthday arriving next August, Bell’s market will likely be constrained.
Once a regular first baseman, he has become primarily a designated hitter who only occasionally takes the field; he started just 18 games at first base this season and logged only 141 innings there.
Teams already committed to a full-time designated hitter may have little interest, and clubs that prefer to rotate several players through the spot may also look elsewhere.
He will compete for at-bats against free agents such as Jake Bauers, Ty France, Alec Bohm, Joc Pederson, George Springer, and Eugenio Suárez, while additional first-base or designated-hitter options could surface through trades.
The Ryan decision was more procedural. He has two of his three option years behind him, and the $13 million mutual option for 2027 sat well above the roughly $9.6 million salary projected for him through arbitration.
Declining the option simply keeps the Twins on the standard path of negotiating or exchanging figures with an arbitration-eligible pitcher rather than committing the higher figure in advance.
Bell now begins the search for his next club after a productive but unspectacular year in Minnesota.
His bat remains reliable enough to interest teams seeking experienced offense at designated hitter or first base, yet age, limited defensive value, and a crowded market will shape the offers he receives.
The Twins, meanwhile, clear salary and open a lineup spot as they assess how to replace the production he provided.
