Toronto Blue Jays might sign-up free agent Heath Bell – MLB Update
Major League Baseball will surely see many changes when teams come out to play in the next season. Many teams have already announced their changes and others are yet to announce their plan for the offseason. With the winter meetings in Dallas round the corner
now, it is expected that waters in the free agent market will get rough and negotiations will speed up.
December and January will see almost all teams finalise their respective rosters in accordance to their needs. The teams rich on cash will opt for Type A free agents and others will compromise on quality to fill in the empty spots.
There are not many top-quality free agents left on the market and interested teams might want to speed up their process if any signings are to be done. The Toronto Blue Jays are rich on cash and are looking for a permanent closer. They have already missed
out on Jonathan Papelbon after following him for almost the entire offseason. Papelbon’s departure to Philadelphia Phillies from Boston Red Sox means that the franchise has nothing much left to choose from and the options are limited to Ryan Madson and Heath
Bell.
It seems that the Jays have an inclination towards Bell, who is at least three years older than Madson. It was expected that Madson will b e re-signed by the Phillies, but Papelbon’s signing has eradicated that assertion effectively. Although Bell has signalled
an inclination towards signing with a coast team, it will be the monetary value that will have the final say when negotiations begin. The Jays have a talented roster and a worthy addition will surely inflate their chances of success in the next season.
This past season, Bell played for the San Diego Padres and managed an impressive 90-percent conversion rate on the number of saves made in comparison to games pitched in. Of the 48 chances that he got during the season, Bell saved 43, thus re-imposing his
authority on the mound. His save percentage was 94 in 2010 and 88 in 2009, indicating his consistency in the Majors. Toronto needs consistency and Heath might just be the right fit.
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