Miami Marlins send Heath Bell to Arizona Diamondbacks – MLB Update
Former San Diego Padres' star reliever Heath Bell could not impress the Miami Marlins this season as he now has been traded to Arizona Diamondbacks.
Marlins were already in transition mode when they acquired Bell to a three-year $27 million last winter, but Bell could not play his natural game this past regular season with only 19 saves which is the primary motive behind his trade to Diamondbacks.
"He was excited, I think he's excited to be able to clean the slate. There's a lot of upside still with this guy," said Diamondbacks' General Manager Kevin Towers.
Later President of Baseball Operations Larry Beinfest said, "This should be a positive change for Heath and the Marlins, After a disappointing 2012 season, Heath gets a fresh start and this move gives us clarity as we begin our offseason roster improvement."
Bell finished 2012 Major League Baseball season achieving 5.09 ERA, 19 saves, 59 strike-outs and 1.55 WHIP. Overall he is sitting comfortable achieving his career 3.30 ERA along with 153 saves and 553 strike-outs and 1.24 WHIP.
Bell has been around in the Major League for almost eight years now and has been selected in All Star game for three times and won two NL Rolaids Relief Man Awards. Experts believe that many other factors also led to Heath Bell’s trade to Diamondbacks. This year the Marlins did not perform well and has been receiving a lot of criticism from Miami fans.
Marlins, despite going with big energy into 2012 season, they finished at the bottom in National League East with 69 wins and 93 losses along with .426 winning percentage.
On the other hand, the Diamondbacks accepted Marlins offer just to improve their bullpen. The Diamondbacks have already some fine relievers in their roster, but with Heath, they understand that he possesses large Major League experience and it will benefit the Diamondbacks in many ways to play well in the coming seasons.
Diamondbacks finished at third position in National League West with 81-81 along with .500 winning percentage. Though this was good result, but now with Bell’s arrival, they probably will do better in the coming seasons.
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