Pirates' Bell credits yoga for improved flexibility, weight loss

BRADENTON, Fla. — After the 2015 season, Josh Bell searched for ways to smooth his transition from outfield to first base. Pirates special instructor Kevin Young suggested yoga.

Bell, whose fast rise to the big leagues was predicated by his power bat, had other plans.

“I was like, ‘No, I'm going to get big!' ” Bell recalled with a laugh.

Bell hit the weights that winter and reported to spring training camp at 248 pounds.

“I took my first ground ball and I was like, ‘Oh, gosh! I'm way too stiff.' ” Bell said. “All season long, (Young) was busting on me: ‘I told you to go to yoga. What, you say your hips are tight? I told you to go to yoga.' So, the first day of (this past) offseason, I started going to yoga.”

Bell found a studio near his home in Dallas that offers hot yoga (which is, as the name implies, conducted in a well-heated room) and signed up.

“You're sweating bullets in there,” Bell said. “It's (set up) mat to mat, so you have people right next to you. There are no mirrors and they turn the lights off. You're up balancing, it's dark and you're sweating … someone in front of you moves and you're trying to stay focused. It's all internalized. I enjoy it, but it's definitely a challenge.”

Seventy-five sweaty sessions later, Bell reported last week to minicamp at 225 pounds. His swing still packs a punch — Bell swatted several balls over the fence during batting practice — and he appears more nimble.

“He's doing well,” Young said. “He's worked his butt off this offseason, paid a lot of attention to making some changes with his throwing stroke, really working on his footwork. He's made some strides with his flexibility (through) yoga.

“He's gotten leaner, and you become a great tool when you're able to do that. That will help a lot with the flexibility, the movement, the quickness, being a little more deliberate with the feet.”

In the clubhouse before each day's workout, Bell tried to recruit his teammates to join him at the yoga studio. Although there weren't any takers, he wasn't discouraged.

Bell hopes to complete 100 yoga sessions before the first full-squad workout of spring training Feb. 17. He's looking for a studio in Pittsburgh where he can continue training.

“I feel like the best version of myself because of yoga, so I'm going to continue. I'm all in,” Bell said. “I have the body control (that), in the past, I was trying to find in the weight room. I have more coordination. It shows when I'm hitting, when I'm throwing and when I'm taking ground balls.”

Bell will be the everyday first baseman, but he hasn't gotten rid of his outfielder's mitt. Last season, he appeared in 23 games (19 starts) at first and 16 games (14 starts) in the outfield.

“It was definitely a curveball for me to go to the outfield (so often) after two years of really trying to learn first base,” he said.

This winter, management told Bell to be prepared to get at least some occasional playing time in right field. If Andrew McCutchen is traded, Bell could end up getting a lot of starts in the outfield.

“I don't know what's going to happen. I can't control who's here,” Bell said. “But if I do get time out there — maybe on a long road trip, if someone needs a day off — I want to be the best version of myself so I can help the team.”

Rob Biertempfel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at rbiertempfel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BiertempfelTrib.