Heath Bell’s days as a Friar may be numbered
The San Diego Padres are quickly becoming sellers, and although we're not even in June yet, the end-of-July trade deadline will be here before you know it. One problem: the Friars don't exactly have many players that other teams are coveting.
Except for one: Heath Bell.
San Diego (20-30) is fading away (7.5 games back) in the National League West. Their anemic offense - and quite possibly the worst offense in the history of the game - won't be giving Bell many chances for saves for the rest of the year. In fact, before Wednesday's save, Bell hadn't worked in a save opportunity in 11 days.
The 33-year-old Bell has elite closing skills, but his talents are being wasted in San Diego. Although most San Diegans, including myself, won't be happy to see Bell go, the back end of the bullpen can afford it. Mike Adams and Luke Gregerson are up to the task.
Another reason he is likely to be traded this summer: Bell is set to become a free agent after this season. The two sides talked briefly this spring about a contract extension, but the bottom line is that Bell may be out of the small-market club's price range.
SD won't be saved by the Bell
Bell has stated his desire to remain in San Diego multiple times, but when contending teams are desperate for help in the bullpen - and that will most certainly be the case in a month - he won't have much of a choice. The Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a few of the teams that have already been identified as possible suitors for Bell.
The Rangers make a lot of sense - they have already inquired about Pittsburgh Pirates stopper Joel Hanrahan, too. Texas has Neftali Feliz in the ninth, but it's no secret that they are strongly considering moving him into the rotation for next season. Bell would allow them to do this.
The Phillies don't make much sense right now, seeing that Ryan Madson has stepped up as the closer after injuries to Brad Lidge (shoulder) and Jose Contreras (elbow). Contreras is back from the DL and Lidge is due to return around the All-Star break; they will essentially have three relievers highly capable of closing in the bigs (assuming they all stay healthy).
If your fantasy baseball team is struggling for saves currently, you may want to think about stashing Adams or Gregerson in case the market for Bell heats up. The Padres are currently in listen-only mode on Bell, but that is sure to change, especially if another organization dangles an intriguing bat.
Target Adams before Gregerson. Adams could easily be a closer in this league; his strikeout rate (9.13 per nine) and walk rate (1.19 per nine) make him as dominant as they come. Pitching in PETCO park doesn't hurt, either. Even if the Friars don't end up shipping Bell away, Adams won't hurt you in the ERA or WHIP columns.
On the flip side, this could also be the right time to trade for Bell if you need a legitimate saves accumulator. Of course, such a move would be made hoping that he moves to a squad that will give him regular save chances. His skill set isn't in question; he boasts a 1.89 ERA with 10 saves and 13 K's in 19 innings. His one blown save could have been avoided if not for a shaky defense. Oh, and he has saved half of the team's wins.
