Twins scouting Heath Bell
Bob Nightengale of USA Today posted on Twitter that the Twins are extensively scouting Heath Bell of the San Diego Padres for a possible trade. Bell, who led the National League last year with 42 saves, would suit the need of a strong closer if Joe Nathan needs to have Tommy John surgery.
Nathan would like to test out his arm first before making a decision that could affect the season and will likely throw a session in the coming days. If Nathan opts to have surgery to repair a torn ligament, a trade for Bell could be a viable option as Bell is due to make $4MM this season.
In the past, the Padres trade demands for Bell have been steep, so the Twins would more than likely have to give up some top prospects to get Bell for potentially one season of work. Bell’s performance last season with the Padres, though, may seem too tough to pass up with 79 strike outs and a 2.71 ERA in 69 innings of relief. Those numbers are comparable to Nathan’s season with 89 strike outs and a 2.10 ERA in 68.2 innings of relief.
Of course, all of this resides on the severity of Nathan’s elbow injury, but I would say the chances of Nathan pitching in 2010 are very slim.
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