Bond between Josh Bell and Jake Burger transcends baseball

MIAMI, FL—In the middle of the 2023 playoff race, the Miami Marlins decided to fully buy at the trade deadline and two of the pieces they acquired were Josh Bell and Jake Burger. They became very close, both on and off the field. A year later, the Marlins were far out of contention and in a position where they had to sell off pieces, with one of those being Bell going to the Arizona Diamondbacks. On Tuesday, the ex-teammates spoke to how that relationship has impacted their careers.

"I think the moment we both walked into this clubhouse right after the trade deadline last year, we instantly clicked," said Burger. "Felt like a big brother to me in a sense. Our families are great friends. Now our wives are always texting each other. [My son] Brooks is really good friends with his daughters and loves playing. From the baseball aspect, he's pivotal in my career. Just to show me the ropes of how to go about it every single day and be a professional. He really took me under his wing and it's a relationship that'll transcend the sport for the rest of our lives."

When Bell was acquired last season, he was struggling with the Cleveland Guardians. Following the trade deadline, when he joined the Marlins, he flipped the switch slashing .270/.338/.480/.818 with 11 home runs, 26 RBIs and a 115 OPS+. As for Burger, he had already smacked 25 home runs with the White Sox, but strikeouts were an issue. With the Marlins, Burger lowered his strikeout percentage to 21.7%, the lowest of his career.

Although it was a short stint for Bell, it was an impactful one with the numbers he had in 2023 and being a key part in the Marlins playoff run. "When you're tasting champagne at the end of the season, they're memories that you are not going to forget," said Bell. "Made some good friends, with Xavier (Edwards), (Jake) Burger and the rest of the guys. Trades are part of the game. I was talking about it when (Luis) Arraez and (A.J.) Puk left and now I am on a different team, so it's just a part of it and you just have to keep grinding and keep showing up every day."

Prior to the trade deadline, Bell told Fish On First in an exclusive interview that he didn't see himself getting traded two weeks before the deadline due to poor production. However, after his hot streak and an injury that sidelined regular Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker, he had a feeling he would be going out west.

Bell is used to midseason moves after being traded at the 2022 and 2023 deadlines as well. Still, it helps that he would be rejoining A.J. Puk, who was dealt to the D-backs separately just a couple days earlier.

"That was cool," said Bell. "Just getting a text from him as soon as I got traded was cool. A familiar face in the clubhouse always goes a long way during the trade deadline, so definitely happy to be teammates with him again."

Looking to salvage the series finale against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, the Marlins did plenty of damage against veteran lefty Jordan Montgomery. Burger hit his 25th home run of the season while Cristian Pache hit his first home run of the season. Coincidentally, Pache's last homer came more than a year ago in Miami (when he was still on the Philadelphia Phillies).

The Marlins took a 6-3 lead into the seventh inning. However, Arizona rallied back in the top of the seventh led by Bell's RBI single and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s pinch-hit, three-run double. In the process, they snapped Jesús Tinoco's scoreless streak as a Marlin. The Diamondbacks padded the lead thanks to Geraldo Perdomo's second home run of the season, which made it 8-6.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker was ejected for the eighth time in his Marlins tenure. It came after Xavier Edwards argued a called third strike.

The Marlins kept fighting until the end, loading the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning and bringing the potential winning run to the plate, but it wouldn't be enough, The Diamondbacks held on to defeat them by a final score of 10-8.

Josh Bell would finish Wednesday's game going 1-for-2 with an RBI, two walks and a hit-by-pitch.

David Hensley, who started for the Marlins, notched a three-hit game, his first with the Marlins and second of his career.

The Marlins will have themselves on off-day before beginning their three-game set against the Chicago Cubs on Friday night. The Marlins have yet to announce a starter, but it is projected to be Max Meyer. First pitch will be at 7:10 pm.