That Dave Martinez is rolling out new lineups daily based mostly on who went 2-for-4 and who went 0-for-4 the night before isn’t going to work out great for Bell, who got to hit cleanup the first two games. He hit sixth yesterday and fifth today. There’s probably not going to be much in the way of mixed-league value here, particularly with the Nationals being OBP challenged and not having a lot of runners to drive in.

Bell struggled this spring, hitting .130/.231/.217 with 19 strikeouts in 15 games. He will still regularly hit in the middle of the lineup, at least at the start of the season. The Nationals’ full lineup is: SS CJ Abrams, LF James Wood, 2B Luis Garcia Jr., DH Josh Bell, 1B Nathaniel Lowe, 3B Paul DeJong, C Keibert Ruiz, RF Dylan Crews, and CF Jacob Young.

Bell had been hitting behind Nathaniel Lowe in the lineup, but Lowe was fifth today, as Dave Martinez was looking for a new way to break up his lefties. Maybe this is something Martinez should try against left-handed starters, but it’d be a mistake to bat both Lowe and Luis García Jr. outside of the first four spots against righties. Those are probably two of the team’s top three hitters against righties, along with James Wood.

The deal, which was announced before the new year, is now official. The 32-year-old slugger returns to the Nationals on an absolute bargain of a deal and should add switch-handed thump to the middle of a Nationals’ lineup that looks suddenly imposing. Expect Bell to see most of his action as the club’s designated hitter with Nathaniel Lowe entrenched as the regular first baseman. Bell looks like a nice bargain in early fantasy drafts, currently residing outside the top 350 overall.