Padres Avoid Arbitration with Heath Bell

The San Diego Padres will avoid arbitration with All-Star closer Heath Bell by agreeing to a $7.5 million contract for the 2011 season. That will be a $4 million raise from a year ago.

He did not receiver the multi-year contract that he was searching for. He has been the Padres closer for the last 2 seasons and he leads a very strong Padres bullpen. He finished with 27 saves with a 1.93 ERA last season.

Bell would like to remain a Padre for the rest of his career, but he will have to work with the Padres budget in order to get the multi-year contract that he is searching for. If they are not able to agree to a multi-year deal, Bell will be on the trading block in the middle of the season if the Padres are not in contention.