Pirates' Josh Bell ahead of schedule in return from knee surgery

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Josh Bell (knee) is ahead of schedule and has been cleared for everything except for full-speed running, head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk said on Wednesday.

What It Means:

Bell went under the knife for his knee three weeks ago, so this is awesome to hear. Expect him to be ready for Opening Day.

Bell slashed .273/.368/.406 with a .339 wOBA during his first season in the majors. Across 152 plate appearances (42 games) in 2016, the 24-year-old drove in 19 runs and finished with -0.2 wins above replacement.