Heath Bell to the Marlins...

Zambrano38 · Dec 1, 2011

@jaysonst
#Marlins agree to 3-year $27M deal w Heath Bell, pending physical. Expected to take physical tomorrow. More to come at ESPN.com

sheetskout · Dec 1, 2011

Good deal when compared to Francisco Cordero's deal to the Reds a few years back.

mredsox89 · Dec 1, 2011

$9M/year for a RP is nuts unless your team is just one piece from from a WS team, which at least I don't think the Marlins are. If I was a Marlins fan, I'd hope that they don't "lose" out on Reyes/Pujols by 25M.

If they end up getting to the playoffs/WS because of Heath Bell, I'll be the first to take it back. There just haven't really been any big $ RP deals other than Rivera that have worked out

scotty21690 · Dec 1, 2011

Here's hoping that the Marlins are contenders next season...

cgilmo · Dec 2, 2011

MacK · Dec 2, 2011

mredsox89 said:
$9M/year for a RP is nuts unless your team is just one piece from from a WS team, which at least I don't think the Marlins are. If I was a Marlins fan, I'd hope that they don't "lose" out on Reyes/Pujols by 25M.

If they end up getting to the playoffs/WS because of Heath Bell, I'll be the first to take it back. There just haven't really been any big $ RP deals other than Rivera that have worked out

Compared to Rafael Soriano, it's fantastic

padremurph · Dec 2, 2011

Bummed to see Heath go, he's a class act, a great personality, and a great closer. With that being said, glad the Padres didn't overpay for him. I would rather have the compensation picks they'll get to add to the already deep farm system. Plus, can't hate the Marlins after they gave us Cam Maybin for peanuts.

Seiya · Dec 2, 2011

padremurph said:
Bummed to see Heath go, he's a class act, a great personality, and a great closer. With that being said, glad the Padres didn't overpay for him. I would rather have the compensation picks they'll get to add to the already deep farm system. Plus, can't hate the Marlins after they gave us Cam Maybin for peanuts.

Exactly what I was gonna say, awesome funny guy but 9M is just too much for a closer. And the 2 picks should help load the system even more.

madbull34 · Dec 2, 2011

Sad to see him go, but that's way too much for a reliever. Wish him the best of luck in Florida. My lone auto of his:

craiger122003 · Dec 2, 2011

The real question is
did he get a no trade clause? Sorry this is THE Marlins we are talking about

PadresFan86 · Dec 2, 2011

Great guy. Hope he does well in Miami.

James52411 · Dec 2, 2011

Everyone is parroting the Bill James "moneyball" line about closers on this deal, but this ignores what happens when you don't have a quality closer. Bill James and the Red Sox tried to go without a closer when he first got hired and it blew up in their collective faces. No one knew their roles and they blew tons of saves.

The Marlins aren't that far from contending, at least for a wild card. Truth be told, this is a fair deal for Bell and the Marlins. Bell is an elite closer who represents an upgrade for Miami. You need to have a good closer because nothing murders a season like a bad run from a closer who blows 3-4 wins over a week or two. Furthermore, when you add a guy like this to your bullpen, you not only improve the 9th inning, you also improve the 6th, 7th, and 8th because your old 9th inning guy now throws the 8th, the 8th inning guy throws the 7th, and so on.

JoshHamilton · Dec 2, 2011

mredsox89 said:
$9M/year for a RP is nuts unless your team is just one piece from from a WS team, which at least I don't think the Marlins are. If I was a Marlins fan, I'd hope that they don't "lose" out on Reyes/Pujols by 25M.

If they end up getting to the playoffs/WS because of Heath Bell, I'll be the first to take it back. There just haven't really been any big $ RP deals other than Rivera that have worked out

I completely agree

braden · Dec 2, 2011

Phew! That was the one name I was scared of the Jays overpaying for.

Bell is a good closer but if I were shelling out big bucks I'd want a guy who can, you know, go more than one inning once in a while. Bell has less than 20 appearances of more than 1 inning in his career. He's the exact type of reliever that gets ridiculously overvalued.

Not to mention the quickly declining K rate.

bigpapiMA32 · Dec 2, 2011

2012 Miami Marlins = 2011 Philadelphia Eagles?

19braves77 · Dec 2, 2011

This would be a good deal if it was 4 years ago but Health Bell is not that great as everyone thinks... His walk rate went up this year while his strikeout rate went down also due to the sinker. Throw in a good defense with the Padres and the ballpark, the Marlins might get sick in Year 2 of the contract after knowing how the new park will play. Dotel would have been a better sign and Edward Mujica might have been adequate enough to be the closer if Dotel failed. Deal is good for this year but I bet the Marlins hate it after year two.

James52411 · Dec 2, 2011

19braves77 said:
This would be a good deal if it was 4 years ago but Health Bell is not that great as everyone thinks... His walk rate went up this year while his strikeout rate went down also due to the sinker. Throw in a good defense with the Padres and the ballpark, the Marlins might get sick in Year 2 of the contract after knowing how the new park will play. Dotel would have been a better sign and Edward Mujica might have been adequate enough to be the closer if Dotel failed. Deal is good for this year but I bet the Marlins hate it after year two.

Seriously, you'd rather have Dotel than Heath Bell? If you'd like to go on a streak like the Pirates that's a great decision.

19braves77 · Dec 2, 2011

Yep, I would take Dotel & a committee of Randy Choate, Edward Mujica, and Jose Ceda over 3 years at 27 million plus a vestiing option for 4th year for a closer who is 34. He got 43 saves with Padres and they still finished 71-91. Marlins finished 72-90 and could have use that money elsewhere.

AmishDave · Dec 2, 2011

If anyone watched several of the Marlins games last year (which, by the responses, I'm guessing nobody did) their bullpen was awful. If you're gonna spend money, spend it on someone who'll actually keep a 4-2 lead in the 9th, instead of giving up 3 run homer after 3 run homer.

I'm stoked about this move

Zymco · Dec 2, 2011

Leading candidate to replace him in San Diego? Gregorson has to be the leading in house candidate, but could they go to the cheaper free agent market?

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