Heath Bell goes to Miami Marlins – MLB News
Heath Bell, one of the closers of the San Diego Padres, has reportedly signed a $27 million deal with the Miami Marlins on Friday, December 2. The deal is for three-year old contract, whereby a fourth year vesting option has also been included.
It is interesting to note that Bell was offered arbitration by the San Diego Padres only last week. The arbitration in itself was an indication that there was some sense in the team camp that he might wish to move on now.
His ERA of 2.36 with 132 saves for the Padres had indeed set him apart. He not only pitched with an average of 62 innings annually. The most reassuring thing about him was having 43 saves this year with 2.44 ERA, in the just over 62 innings that he pitched
for the Padres.
His saves were more than any other closers around. It was reported that he pretty much wanted to stay with the team something that did not materialise at this stage. While the date of his deal had been approaching, he had once expressed his lack of certainty
as to what lay ahead for him and the team as a whole on the contract.
"Am I at peace with this? Partly yes and partly no," Bell said in June. "Guys have to make their decisions that are best for the organization. If that means trading me, I get it. I love San Diego. I love the organization. But sometimes you have to go in
a different direction.”
Also important will be referring to the fact that the San Diego general manager Josh Byrnes had stated earlier that the top priority for the Padres in the upcoming time will be to find pitchers who can throw in the “eighth and ninth” innings, probably leaving
a hint that Heath Bell was not to be retained.
It looks like Miami is going all out to acquire the players that will need for the 2012 MLB regular season. It will be interesting to see what impact Bell will have for the Marlins in the pitching department.
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