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CLEVELAND (WJW) – It’s official! Josh Bell is coming to Cleveland.

The Cleveland Guardians announced Monday the team signed free agent 1B/DH Bell to a 2-year contract. The contract includes a player opt-out after the 2023 season.

FOX 8 first reported the move last week before the deal was inked.

Bell, 30, celebrated two career-high in 2022 – including hits at 147 and walks at 81.

FILE – San Diego Padres’ Josh Bell watches hit RBI-single during the fifth inning in Game 2 of the baseball NL Championship Series between the San Diego Padres and the Philadelphia Phillies on Oct. 19, 2022, in San Diego. The Cleveland Guardians and slugging first baseman Bell have agreed to a $33 million, two-year contract, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a review of medical records. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

He split the year between the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Padres.

For the year, he batted a combined .266 (147-for-552) with 29 doubles, 3 triples, 17 home runs and 71 RBI in 156 games (.362/.422/ .784). At the time of his August 2nd trade to San Diego along with Juan Soto, he ranked fourth in the National League in on-base pct. (.384), fifth in average (.301), sixth in hits (113) and seventh in OPS (.877), compiling two 15-game on-base streaks along the way.

Josh also launched the Josh Bell Book Club in 2021, a monthly program in which he selected books written to inspire being and becoming better individuals, expanding the book club concept in 2022 to reach Black children.