Chris Assenheimer: Josh Bell not holding up his end of the bargain after signing two-year contract with Guardians

Guardians fans are having more than a little buyer's remorse when it comes to Josh Bell. The big slugger (6-foot-4, 260 pounds) was signed to a two-year contract that will pay him $16.5 million per season to contribute offensively and provide power in the middle of the order. Thus far, he has done neither. Bell is without a homer and has only four RBIs while batting .109 (5-for-46) with Cleveland. He notched his first extra-base hit Tuesday night against the Yankees. In the ninth inning. With no one on base. And the Guardians clinging to an 11-2 deficit. Even Bell's walk-off in a 12-inning series finale against Seattle on Sunday lacked dramatic flair, if that's possible. It didn't come via a big hit. Rather, it was a fielder's choice grounder to first that he sheepishly celebrated with his teammates afterward. It's gotten so bad that manager Terry Francona moved Bell out of the cleanup spot during the Guardians' first homestand of the season. And it doesn't look like he's on his way to a triumphant return anytime soon. The only problem with that relocation? The guy Tito replaced him with, Josh Naylor, isn't swinging it, either. He has a team-leading two homers for a club with the fewest in the majors (6) and is batting only .209. Maybe Andres Gimenez is the right cleanup candidate at the time, but fans are too concerned with ripping Francona for not batting the second baseman in the two-hole occupied by struggling shortstop Amed Rosario. You can't hit Gimenez everywhere in the lineup to fill the soft spots. There's too many of them at this point. Maybe it's Jose Ramirez, a perennial MVP candidate, but he hits third, a place normally reserved for the best hitter of the bunch. And that's what he is. Maybe Gimenez third, Ramirez fourth, Bell fifth and Naylor sixth? Forget it, this is getting too confusing. Leave it to Francona to figure out. That's what he gets paid the big bucks. Who knows what's bothering Bell? It could be pressing to impress his new team. It could be the cold weather he's played in throughout much of the start to the season. It could be the new American League pitchers he's seeing for the first time after a career spent in the NL. It could be him struggling to adapt to the new rules and timing. It could just be a slow start. It could be all of those things. Here's a scary thought. What if the expectations are too high for Bell. It's possible, you know? Probable, IMO. It was a bit perplexing to hear lots of people out there proclaim the Guardians had solved their power problem when they signed Bell in the offseason. Team president Chris Antonetti mentioned Bell addressing a need when Cleveland announced it had acquired the veteran. When has Bell displayed his prodigious power in the past? He's hit 30-plus homers once over seven seasons, and it certainly wasn't last year, when he clouted a whopping 17 with the Nationals and Padres. Maybe the Guardians didn't get the slugger they were bargaining for. What Bell has proven to be over his career is an average hitter (.262 lifetime) with a little bit of pop who doesn't strike out a ton. That's not a cleanup hitter. It's actually the opposite. It should be noted that Bell is considered a good teammate and a positive influence, something that could benefit a clubhouse full of young players. But the Guardians didn't sign Bell to be a good guy. They signed him to hit the ball out of the park and drive in runs. So far, they've gotten little return on their investment. It's far too early to consider Bell a bust. Give him 30-40 games before the B-word starts getting thrown around. But if we're late into May and seeing the same results, it's probably time for the Guardians to start worrying. And to most definitely find a new cleanup hitter. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @CAwesomeheimer.