Heath Bell Actively Sought By Blue Jays, Marlins, Other Team

SAN DIEGO, CA: Closing pitcher Heath Bell #21 of the San Diego Padres throws the ball during the ninth inning of the game against the Chicago Cubs at Petco Park in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent C. Horner/Getty Images)

There are currently three teams chasing after free agent closer Heath Bell - the Toronto Blue Jays, the Miami Marlins, and somebody else.

Dec 1, 2011 - I want to take you back to the trade deadline real quick. The San Diego Padres were expected to move closer and free-agent-to-be Heath Bell. Bell was the subject of countless rumors. Setup man Mike Adams was the subject of considerably fewer rumors. Yet it was Adams who wound up getting dealt - to the Rangers - and Bell stuck around, receiving a standing ovation from the home crowd when he appeared in a game a few hours after the deadline passed.

The whole thing was kind of touching, as San Diego loves Bell, and Bell loves San Diego. But it also put the Padres in a tough spot. The Padres were open to re-signing Bell, but for only two years, while Bell wanted at least three. And Bell said at the time that he intended to stick around no matter what:

"If I don’t have a multi-year deal and they offer me arbitration, I will accept arbitration," Bell said. "Nicole and I talked about all the scenarios last night. There were more pros than cons.

"There is no downside to me accepting arbitration and the family staying in San Diego for at least another year. My kids love it here. My family is happy here. And I’m in a position where I can make some decisions right now."

The Padres are a low-budget operation, and they can't really afford to pay a closer as much money as Bell would get in arbitration. It seemed like the Padres were up against it.

Now fast-forward to this offseason. This is an offseason in which the Phillies have nearly given four years and $44 million to Ryan Madson, and in which the Phillies did give four years and $50 million to Jonathan Papelbon. This is an offseason in which the Rangers gave two years and more than $14 million to Joe Nathan. The closer market is a good one, for the closers, so all that stuff about Heath Bell staying in San Diego? Forget about it.

Bell's out in the market, looking for a new home, and Ken Rosenthal has word on who's doing the pursuing:

The Jays, Marlins and one other club are pursuing Bell, according to major-league sources.

Given Bell's run of good seasons, and given the look of the market, Bell should get the three-year contract he's seeking. From whom that contract offer comes, we don't know, but now we have a better idea.

The Blue Jays got 17 saves from Frank Francisco and 11 saves from Jon Rauch last year, but both those guys are free agents, so the team needs a replacement, and Rosenthal suggests that they might have an awful lot of money to spend. Whether you buy the Blue Jays as legitimate contenders is up to you, but Bell would obviously help them, and remember, there'll be that second wild card this year or next year.

The Marlins got 36 saves from Leo Nunez last year, but Leo Nunez doesn't exist anymore, and Juan Carlos Oviedo's status is still up in the air. The Marlins also apparently have a lot of money to spend, and while a closer might not be the best investment, Bell would be a splash by an organization looking to make a splash.

I don't know who the other suitor is, and while I could speculate, I don't want to, and you don't want me to.

Somebody is probably going to give Heath Bell a pretty big contract, sometime soon. Bell has been a very good closer for a long time, and he should be good again in 2012. Now, there are concerns. Bell is 34 years old. He is a reliever. He has had his success in baseball's most pitcher-friendly environment. And his contact rate has shot north. Bell is not a guarantee to be good for a while, and he is not a guarantee to be good even next season.

But he'll probably be effective, and an improvement for whichever team lands him. Teams that pay a lot of money for closers know the risk of what they're getting into, and...well I don't quite know how to wrap this up. That Heath Bell, he's all right.

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Jeff Sullivan

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I started blogging about the Seattle Mariners at Leone For Third in December of 2003, and I joined SBN and founded Lookout Landing in January 2005. I can see outside from my room, which is good... Read full bio

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