Red Sox Miss Out on Heath Bell. Closer Going to Miami
With no intent for a cheesy reference to an old cheesy Will Smith song, it’s looking like the Red Sox will fall short in the Heath Bell sweepstakes as he’s going to Miami. The former Padres closer has reportedly agreed to a three-year contract with the newly named Miami Marlins.
The deal, as reported by Jayson Stark, is worth $27 million over three years, pending a physical.
Miami was known to be deeply interested in the services of Bell and with a new stadium, new manager, new uniforms and a new team name, this could be the tip of the ice-berg when it comes to new players.
But one team’s gain is another team’s loss. Unfortunately that team’s loss is the Red Sox. Just yesterday I posted on how the results of the most recent poll showed Bell was the favorite to replace the departed Papelbon. Well, scratch that idea as again the Red Sox miss out on another high end, free agent closer.
I won’t get into the Papelbon saga, it’s water under the bridge. So, first up to find a new home was Joe Nathan. Next, Jonathan Broxton. Now Heath Bell. While I wasn’t a fan of Nathan, Bell and Broxton would’ve been great additions to the Red Sox.
So what’ really going on here? Were the Red Sox too tied up in the managerial search to worry about who or what team may scoop one of their targeted free agents? There were reports that the Red Sox were one of the highly interested teams on Bell and when it came out that an ‘undisclosed’ team was close to a deal, it gave a glimmer of hope that maybe that team was the Red Sox.
But to no avail. While the Red Sox brass were busy courting Bobby V and making sure Ben Cherington got full credit for the hiring of the new manager, the Marlins were busy working behind the scenes by going after Bell and reaching a deal. Chalk one up for the Marlins, they were the aggressor and they won the prize.
Maybe there is a hidden message amongst this most recent train of events. Maybe the closer role is going to be Daniel Bard‘s? Bell got a three-year deal from Miami and it was known that Cherington didn’t want to invest in what he feels is a “long-term” deal. Ben kicked the tires on Bell, maybe even engaged in some serious negotiations, but in the end he felt the price and the length was going to be too steep.
Bard is an option, but is he the best option? Some feel he’s going to get the job, while others, including myself would like to see him groom for another couple of years. While Bobby V says he didn’t know what the best option for Bard is, you get the feeling that he doesn’t fully believe Bard is ready for the role. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he say so?
There still remains a couple of good free agent closers in Ryan Madson and Francisco Cordero. Good yes, but not great. There’s a reason why Broxton, Papelbon and Bell were the first few to go to new homes.
Ok Ben, you’ve got your manager in place and the handshakes and smiles were nice to watch and it gave us all that warm and fuzzy feeling. Now it’s time to get down to business. You have a Nation that is getting restless, very restless.
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