Former Closer, Heath Bell, Hopes To Return To Padres

Boy how the mighty have fallen. It seems like a lifetime ago that former San Diego Padres’ closer Heath Bell took over said role at the back-end of the bullpen from the legendary Trevor Hoffman. Bell, who posted a career ERA of 2.53 over half a decade with the Friars, chose to chase the money of the Florida Marlins, and fell flat on his face.

MLB Trade Rumors.com recently reported that the former All-Star closer has a desire to return to the Padres next season. From the Marlins, Bell moved on to the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he was a set-up man and part-time closer. From the D-Backs, Bell was dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays, who had seen enough by late spring of this season. After Tampa, Bell spent a few minutes in the Orioles system, and finally landed at Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, with the Yankees.

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According to the report, Bell requested his release from the Bronx Bombers after their chose not to promote him to the big league roster. Bell most likely, if he is to get another crack at returning to the place where his career took off, will be a non-roster invitee by A.J. Preller’s hand. As the report also points out, the bullpen is the least of San Diego’s concerns, as the offense is one of the most historically bad lineups of the last 50 years. Free agency is tepid at best, and there aren’t many impact bats in the farm system either.