New Twins Slugger Done Golfing; Credits Training Bat for Saving Career

A wave of new bats have begun to appear around Major League Baseball recently. First, we saw the axe bat. This season, however, it was all about the torpedo bat.

Some 2025 Twins experimented with the Torpedo bat. Carlos Correa said he wanted to see more data but Ryan Jeffers bought all the way in.

Then, there was Harrison Bader, who busted out the chug jug bat while with the Minnesota Twins.

MN Twins Josh Bell hitting more than ever

But new MN Twins first baseman Josh Bell credits his return to hitting glory last summer to a different kid of stick.

After a slow start, Bell made some grip adjustments, among other things. But what he credits most — a new weighted warm up bat that he claims elongating his big league career.

Before games, [Josh Bell] started hitting more sinkers off pitching machines, and he started swinging with a weighted bat.

Amed Rosario, one of Bell’s Washington teammates, showed up to spring training with a weighted bat, and Bell was impressed enough that he ordered one for himself.

“That’s when I started seeing results on the field,” Bell said. “It’s just one of those things where you play with veterans, and we just started talking, and it definitely helped me extend my career.”

Star Tribune

Last season Josh Bell played in 140 games for the Washington Nationals. He batted .237/.325/.417 with 16 doubles and 22 home runs. His .552 OPS against lefties was still a struggle, but he owned an .804 OPS against right-handed pitchers.

Josh Bell understands that the most straightforward path to success on offensive is hitting the ball in the air, and that has become a daily focus for him.

Through 33 games Bell was batting just .139/.231/.296. In his last 110 games, Bell slashed .267/.352/.453 with all 16 of his doubles and 17 of the home runs. He clearly was seeing the fruits of his adjustments.

Bell told Nightengale he’s, “hit more this offseason than I think I ever have. Just trying not to lose feel, and trying to come into camp ready to go.”

The Minnesota Twins didn’t sign Bell thinking he was going win a Gold Glove like they got from their last two first baseman. His bat needs to play though, and they are certainly leaning into that reality.

Bell not letting golf ruin his swing for Minnesota

Golf is often a popular past time for Major League Baseball players. Just this offseason Royce Lewis and Aaron Hicks won the league’s first golf invitational.

it’s not for Bell, though. After picking up the clubs last offseason, he believes Golf hurt his swing coming into last season, so he won’t be playing again until his MLB career is over.

Bell is determined to have a better start than last year. So much, he said, that he swore off playing golf.

“I tried golfing for the first time last offseason,” Bell said. “I just won’t do that anymore. I think it made me lose my swing over the course of the offseason, so I’ve just been hitting from both sides. I told myself I’ll hang up the clubs until I hang up my jersey, so hopefully that helps.”

Star Tribune

Bell already knows his new manager Derek Shelton from a season together in Pittsburgh. He has quickly gotten to know Royce Lewis as they share an agent in Scott Boras.

The hope is that a level of familiarity jumpstarts Bell out of the gate this season. The Minnesota Twins could be interesting if the lineup performs to solid standard. Of course Bell is a large piece of the puzzle.