Also, there are teams outside the AL East that might make the playoffs.
Not if you ask ESPN, but there are, honestly.
I took a look at 1b and DH fWAR to see what other contenders might be interested in Bell beyond the ones mentioned as looking for bats (that is, beyond TB and Boston mentioned by MLB, and TOR mentioned by Talk Nats).
Yuli Gurriel has not had a good year, but has turned it around in June and early July. Given Houston's safe lead, I'd say they aren't looking for a guy who might not even be an upgrade (and certainly not an upgrade at DH). Seattle already pulled the trigger on Carlos Santana to go with Ty France, so I don't see going deeper into hock. They probably are in a bunch with the 4th AL East team but ahead of the ChiSox and Guardians for the last wild card slot. My guess is that with Eloy back, the ChiSox will run with Abreu and Vaughn at 1st and DH. As for the Guardians, I'm not sure they go for it, but Bell would be an upgrade over Franmil Reyes. The Twins have a pretty flexible roster and probably could find a way to play an extra bat if they picked one up.
In the NL, I don't know if we'd trade with the Mets, and that's been worked over in this thread. Beyond that, I suppose the Phillies, Cards, Giants, and Marlins are the marginal contenders, with the Marlins included mainly based on record to date rather than projections. Cards probably sink or swim with Pujols at this point and don't look for a DH to go with Goldy. Giants have Belt back, but maybe should be looking for another bat.
In sum, I really do think the likeliest landing spot would be with one of the 3 or so non-Yankee AL East contenders, plus maybe the Twins or Giants (or even the Guardians). This make sense?
