David Bell moves to Chicago; Donald Lutz is AFL Player of the Week

Bell will be trading his Bats jersey in for a Cubs one.

It was only a one-year relationship between the Louisville Bats and David Bell as the 2012 manager has joined the coaching staff of the Chicago Cubs as third-base coach. He led the Bats to an awful 51-93 record during the 2012 season, in which the Bats seemed to be severely lacking in talent, in part due to offseason trading activities.

With the announcement that Dusty Baker had been extended for two years and his full coaching staff would return for 2013, there was no room for Bell on the major league club, likely prompting him to make the move to Chicago. As bad as the Cubs have been, they could be looking for a new manager much sooner than the Reds as well. Perhaps Bell will get chance there.

The Bats will be looking for a new manager for next season. It could be an exciting one for them as they could see an influx of prospects in 2013 who were playing at lower levels last year. Most notably, number one prospect Billy Hamilton should make his home in Louisville at some point next season. Where do I apply?

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It was announced that Reds 1B prospect Donald Lutz was named the Arizona Fall League's Player of the Week for week 2. From MLB.com:

Lutz, 23, led the AFL in hitting (.556), hits (10), slugging percentage (.833) and total bases, tied for the lead in runs scored (five) and tied for second in extra-base hits (three) last week.

This past season, Lutz hit .263 and led all Reds minor leaguers with 22 home runs, while placing third with 71 RBI. He spent most of his time playing for Class-A advanced Bakersfield before being promoted to Double-A Pensacola in the second half of the season. He also played a few games with the AZL Reds, while rehabbing from an injury.

While Lutz is primarily viewed as a first baseman, he and everyone else knows that incumbent Reds first baseman Joey Votto was signed to a 10-year deal. Lutz has also done work as an outfielder in order to keep his options open for reaching the big leagues, whether it be with Cincinnati or some other team in the future.