What The Padres Can Do About Heath Bell
Against all odds, Heath Bell is still a Padre. He was a trade candidate last summer, last offseason, this July and again this August. But the Giants and Padres weren’t able to work out a deal following San Francisco’s claim, so Bell remains in San Diego.
Here are the Padres’ options regarding their closer:
- Put Him Back On Waivers – San Diego GM Jed Hoyer could put Bell on waivers in an attempt to save $1.4MM or so in salary. This option seems unproductive – all they would get is salary relief – and unlikely. If the Padres put Bell on waivers again this month, they'd be irrevocable.
- Work Toward An Extension – Bell has consistently said that he’d accept less money to stay in San Diego. ‘Less’ would still be expensive in this instance, so Hoyer and CEO Jeff Moorad may decide the small-market Padres have more pressing needs given their strong bullpen.
- No Arbitration Offer – The Padres could simply let Bell walk after the season and thank him for five years of excellent relief. This seems unlikely, but it’s too early to rule it out.
- Offer Arbitration And Keep Him If He Accepts – This would mean the Padres are stuck paying a relief pitcher about 20% of their payroll and it would also mean no compensatory draft picks in 2012.
- Offer Arbitration And Trade Him If He Accepts – If the Padres want draft picks for Bell, they’ll have to offer arbitration. Bell has said he’d accept and Moorad has said he wouldn’t mind if that happened, so an arbitration offer seems likely. Even if the Padres don’t like the idea of paying Bell $10MM or so in 2012, they could offer a contract and then trade him if he accepts, like the Rangers did with Frank Francisco last year.
There’s also the possibility that Bell will turn down arbitration, leaving the Padres with two top picks in next year’s draft. That’s essentially out of their control once the offer of arbitration is out there, though.
Nearly half of 6,500 MLBTR readers said in a recent poll that they would sign Bell to an extension. While that would appease some Padres fans and the right-hander himself, it would create as many problems as it solves for a team with such a modest payroll. It’s doubtful that the Padres would give Bell up for nothing though, so at this point it seems likely that they’ll offer arbitration after the season and go from there.
Giants Claim Bell On Waivers; No Deal Reached
FRIDAY: Bell is staying put, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
WEDNESDAY: The Giants have been awarded the waiver claim on Padres closer Heath Bell, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Olney expects the Giants' level of concern with closer Brian Wilson's elbow to be a factor in the ensuing trade talks. If the teams cannot reach an agreement, the Padres can pull Bell back, but then won't be able to trade him elsewhere. A trade is unlikely, hears Dan Hayes of the North County Times.
Though Bell projects as a Type A free agent, National League non-contenders elected not to claim the righty with an eye on draft pick compensation. With the Padres at least, Bell has said he'd accept an arbitration offer.
Bell, 33, has a 2.55 ERA, 6.8 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.34 HR/9, and 43.2% groundball rate on the season. He has $1.44MM remaining on his contract.
The two division rivals last struck a deal in July of 2003, when the Giants traded Clay Hensley and cash to the Padres for Matt Herges. Before that, they hadn't made a deal since '92.
Heyman On Cubs, Valverde, Bell, Hernandez
Jon Heyman of SI.com runs through the Cubs’ options for their open GM position and concludes that White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn is “perhaps the most logical choice” for chairman Tom Ricketts. Click here for more rumblings about the Cubs and keep reading for Heyman’s other notes from around MLB…
- Manager Mike Quade is seen as a “long shot” to return as the Cubs’ manager next year.
- The Tigers will “surely” exercise Jose Valverde’s $8MM option for 2012, Heyman writes.
- No one with the Giants or Padres saw a Heath Bell trade as a likely possibility, according to Heyman. The Giants won the claim for Bell earlier in the week.
- The Reds are believed to be open to trading Ramon Hernandez, since catching prospect Devin Mesoraco could replace him. Hernandez hit the waiver wire this week.
Waiver Notes: Thome, Kubel, Bell
Earlier this evening the Indians worked out a deal with the Twins to bring Jim Thome back to the Tribe. Here are some thoughts on the deal plus news on other waived players..
- Tribe GM Chris Antonetti says that the Twins have "a relatively narrow list of players" to choose from by the October 15th deadline, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
- The reason why the White Sox didn't block Thome from going to the Indians was that they had no playing time for him with Paul Konerko limited to DH, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter) thinks that the White Sox should have put a claim in on Thome anyway. After all, he points out, they claimed Jason Kubel for the same reason.
- Speaking of Kubel, the Twins outfielder says that the rumors have weighed on him and he's looking forward to having a definite answer on the matter, according to the Associated Press. Based on what White Sox GM Ken Williams said earlier today, it doesn't sound as though he'll be changing teams.
- As of right now, it looks like a Heath Bell deal between the Padres and Giants isn't going to happen, tweets Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. There are no serious talks taking place, if there are any talks at all.
Waiver Rumors: Thome, Bell, White Sox, Wright
The waiver wire is heating up with one week remaining for teams to trade for postseason reinforcements. Here’s a refresher on how August trades work and here are the latest rumors…
- The Indians placed a claim on Jim Thome, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter). However, the White Sox, who have a worse record than Cleveland, also placed a claim, so they would have priority over the Indians.
- It appears unlikely that the Giants, who won the claim on Heath Bell, will complete a trade for the reliever, Jon Heyman of SI.com reports (on Twitter).
- Though the Padres would find if difficult to accept a weak offer for Bell, it might beat the alternative of keeping him and potentially paying him big money in 2012, Ken Rosenthal writes at FOX Sports.
- The White Sox placed John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Paul Konerko and Matt Thornton on waivers, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
- The Giants are a fit for the recently waived Ramon Hernandez, but the catcher will likely be a Type A free agent so a different team could claim him for draft picks, ESPN.com's Buster Olney notes (on Twitter).
- Hoynes suggests the Indians likely claimed one of Thome and Jason Kubel (Twitter link). Unknown teams claimed both Twins sluggers this week.
- The Rockies were one of the teams that put in a claim on David Wright this month, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Though it's unclear which team won the claim, it probably doesn't matter at the moment, since the Mets aren't trading their third baseman. As Renck points out, it's a reminder that the Rockies will be interested if the Mets ever make Wright available.
Heath Bell, Carlos Pena, Kubel Placed On Waivers
Heath Bell, Jason Kubel, and Carlos Pena were placed on trade waivers today, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal tweeted earlier about Jim Thome being placed, also. The placement on waivers starts a 48 hour period during which teams can put in claims. Hundreds of players are placed on waivers in August, but these four are notable because they do appear to be trade candidates.
Bell, the Padres' closer, sports a 2.60 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 0.35 HR/9, and 42.9% groundball rate in 52 innings this year. That's a big dropoff from his typical strikeout rate. The 33-year-old has $1.5MM left on his contract. He projects as a Type A free agent, but has said he'd accept arbitration if the Padres offer. Owner Jeff Moorad said this month that Bell accepting arbitration would be preferable in some ways, but if the Padres aren't actually interested in a potential eight-figure one-year deal for Bell, they've got two days to move him. Dan Mennella took a look at the fantasy impact of the move at CloserNews.
Kubel, 29, is hitting .295/.350/.456 in 326 plate appearances for the Twins, playing right field and DH. The left-handed hitter has about $1MM plus incentives left on his contract and currently profiles as a Type B free agent in the American League. He earns more than Thome, but not so much that we can rule out a team claiming him mostly for the draft pick.
Pena, 33, is hitting .222/.342/.455 with 23 home runs in 480 plate appearances this year for the Cubs. Though he projects as a Type B, teams might be reluctant to offer arbitration given his salary. He's owed about $1MM for the rest of the year, and the Cubs will be on the hook for a deferred $5MM in January even if they trade him.
Two players who will not be traded this month: Oakland's Rich Harden and Coco Crisp, who were claimed on waivers but pulled back according to this report yesterday from Rosenthal. Today, ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Indians won the claim on Harden, but could not work out a deal.
Padres Designate Pat Neshek For Assignment
The Padres have designated right-hander Pat Neshek for assignment, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times. In a corresponding move, Ernesto Frieri has been activated from the disabled list. Neshek was claimed by the Padres in March after the Twins put him on waivers.
Neshek, who turns 31 next month, has a 4.01 ERA in 25 appearances for San Diego this season. His peripheral stats aren't nearly as respectable — Neshek has allowed 22 walks against just 20 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings pitched. Control has been an issue for Neshek over the last two seasons as the reliever has battled to regain his form after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2008. Before the procedure, Neshek was a dominant force in the Twins' bullpen, posting a 2.68 ERA and a 10.6 K/9 rate over 106 appearances in 2006-07.
Draft Notes: Austin, Pirates, Hultzen
The deadline for signing draft picks has passed, but there’s still lots of news about 2011 draftees. The latest:
- Padres draftee Brett Austin turned down $1.5MM from San Diego to play for North Carolina State, according to Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres (Twitter link). San Diego selected the catcher with the 54th overall pick in the draft.
- As Jim Callis of Baseball America shows, the Pirates, Nationals and Royals lead all MLB teams in bonus expenditures from 2007-11. Four AL East teams – everyone but the Yankees – are next on the list.
- Callis also details this year's expenditures, with the Pirates, Nationals and Royals again leading the way.
- 2011 draftees Gerrit Cole, Bubba Starling and Danny Hultzen obtained three of the top five bonuses in draft history, according to Callis.
NL West Notes: D’Backs, Padres, Uribe
The Diamondbacks and Padres were two of the ten teams that cracked $10MM on draft bonus spending this year, according to Baseball America. Here's the latest on those two clubs and their NL West rivals…
- It's wouldn't be surprising to see the D'Backs look into the possibility of acquiring a shortstop this month, despite Willie Bloomquist's solid play in place of the injured Stephen Drew. But Edgar Renteria? One D'Backs source tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that the Reds "won't move him" (Twitter link).
- Corey Brock of MLB.com tells the story of Drew Cumberland, the 46th overall draft pick in 2007, who had to retire because of a medical condition that disrupts balance in the inner ears. Hearing the news was understandably tough for the 22-year-old former Padres prospect. "Baseball … it's my passion. It's what I love," he told Brock.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness responds to Tim Dierkes’ recent suggestion that the Dodgers could trade Juan Uribe for Carlos Zambrano. The Dodgers don’t have sure things on the infield going forward, so they may prefer to hold onto Uribe to ensure that they have at least one regular they can count on heading in to 2012.
Teams Spend $236MM On Draft
The totals are in and Major League teams have again broken draft spending records. According to figures compiled by Jim Callis of Baseball America, MLB teams spent a combined $227.94MM on this year's draft bonuses and $235.99MM including additional guaranteed money in MLB deals for Danny Hultzen, Trevor Bauer, Dylan Bundy, Anthony Rendon and Matt Purke.
A year ago, MLB teams spent about $35MM less: $195.78MM, or $201.83MM including additional guaranteed money in big league deals. The Pirates led the way in 2011, spending over $17MM and breaking the $11.93MM record the Nationals set a year ago. Washington also broke its previous record, spending over $15MM on Rendon, Purke, Alex Meyer, Brian Goodwin and others.
Though only seven teams had ever spent over $10MM on the draft before this year, ten teams did so in 2011, according to Baseball America. Along with the Pirates and Nationals, the Royals ($14.01MM), Cubs ($11.95MM), Diamondbacks ($11.93MM), Rays ($11.48MM), Mariners ($11.33MM), Padres ($11.02MM), Blue Jays ($11.00MM) and Red Sox ($10.98MM) spent eight figures on the draft.
The Tigers ($2.88MM), who didn’t select until the second round, and White Sox ($2.76MM) were the only clubs to spend less than $3MM, according to Baseball America.