BRADENTON, Fla. — Josh Bell insists he has not arrived. Not yet, though the metric the Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star uses to judge his own progress is highly specific.

Several times a year Bell will order the jersey of a high-profile opposing player and stash it in his locker. At some point during a given series, the jersey will make its way to its namesake with a polite request for an autograph. During a rare interleague West Coast swing last year, Bell hit up three-time American League MVP Mike Trout and three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols for signed swag.

Bell smiles as he tells the story, his inner baseball nerd peeking out as he talks. Over the course of three-plus years in the majors, his memorabilia collection has swelled.

Here’s the thing though: No one has asked him to reciprocate. Signed Balls? Sure. But a jersey? Nope. The 27-year-old first baseman is still waiting to see a No. 55 jersey make its way from an opponent’s clubhouse to the foot of his locker with a note and a Sharpie attached.

When that happens, Bell figures he’ll have finally made it. But he’s also not keeping track. There’s too much to do for the cornerstone of a team in the midst of an organizational reboot following a last-place finish in the NL Central. Though he hit 37 homers a year ago and almost single-handedly kept the Pirates afloat at times during a promising first half, Bell took the firings of manager Clint Hurdle and general manager Neal Huntington last fall personally.

“I know I felt responsible for all that went down at the end of the year,” Bell said Tuesday. “I’m coming in this year, everything is new, everything is fresh and it’s a new opportunity to prove ourselves.”

And Bell is eager to show his breakout season wasn’t a one-off. His numbers took a precipitous dip in the second half, and the switch hitter struggled at times from the right side of the plate.