Josh Bell Recalled from AAA Reno; Cody Ransom Designated for Assignment

In one of those "personnel moves" Kevin Towers was hinting at last week, infielder Cody Ransom was designated for assignment this afternoon. Josh Bell was recalled from Triple-A Reno to take his place.

Cody Ransom was one of Arizona's hottest bats while playing in replace of struggling third baseman Ryan Roberts. Ransom had a career-high 13 RBIs and tied a career high for 4 home runs. These were accomplished in only 17 games with the Diamondbacks; in 2004 while with the San Francisco Giants, he needed 78 games to total 11 RBIs and hit four home runs in 33 games with the New York Yankees in 2008. Ransom had the ability to crush fast balls for home runs but struggled with off-speed pitches. In his last 7 games, he was 1-for-15 with one walk and nine strikeouts; he was 0-for-7 in Kansas City this weekend.

Josh Bell was recently acquired in a minor league trade with the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Michael Belfiore. He played in 79 games with the Orioles in 2010 and 2011, accumulating an unimpressive .200 BA / .221 OBP / .264 SLG line with an OPS+ of only 33. However, he has hit well in 26 games with Reno - .384 BA / .429 OBP / .619 SLG with an OPS+ of 60.

Bell is playing third base and hitting 8th in tonight's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that drafted him in 2005. It sounds like Bell will be the regular starting third baseman, with Roberts shifting into a utility role.