Heath Bell & Chris Young Traded in 3-Team Deal

[revo]

and the hot stove league has begun!

Heath Bell & Cliff Pennington to Arizona
Chris Young to Oakland
Yordy Cabrera and a weight lifted off their shoulders to Miami

[Moonlight J]

Very interesting. Coco Crisp has another $8-14.5M due him so maybe he gets dealt?

[SlideRule]

Interesting. AN folks seem to think it likely means:
1) Drew gets extended somehow, or that at least Beane is confident enough that he'll be back some way or another
2) Coco, Gomes, or both are out for next year.
3) 2B for next year is between Sizemore and Weeks.
4) DH will likely be a rotation of whoever isn't playing OF (Cespy, Reddick, Young, Coco?)

Interestingly, here's a list of former DBacks that could be on the A's next year (Bob Melvin cough cough...)

Chris Young
Brett Anderson
Jarrod Parker
Chris Carter
Collin Cowgill
Ryan Cook
Jordan Norberto
Stephen Drew

[joncarlos]

Is it just me or does this make no sense for Arizona? Why take on that contract? Was Chris Young's deal really that odious?

09:$1.75M, 10:$3.25M, 11:$5M, 12:$7M, 13:$8.5M, 14:$11M club option

[Pauly]

Is it just me or does this make no sense for Arizona? Why take on that contract? Was Chris Young's deal really that odious?

09:$1.75M, 10:$3.25M, 11:$5M, 12:$7M, 13:$8.5M, 14:$11M club option

plus they already have Putz and Hernandez. Head scratcher.

[Hornsby]

plus they already have Putz and Hernandez. Head scratcher.

Not really, they want to build a bullpen that can go from the 6th inning if necessary, and certainly from 7-9 without a hitch. Not to mention, Young was totally expendable...injury prone and low average made him into a player that was getting too expensive for part time duty. They really like Eaton and Pollack...both better leadoff options than Young.

[TranaGreg]

Interesting. AN folks seem to think it likely means:
1) Drew gets extended somehow, or that at least Beane is confident enough that he'll be back some way or another
2) Coco, Gomes, or both are out for next year.
3) 2B for next year is between Sizemore and Weeks.
4) DH will likely be a rotation of whoever isn't playing OF (Cespy, Reddick, Young, Coco?)

They said on the weekend they likely won't be resigning Gomes. So yeah, your #4 is the plan.

[Cobain's Ghost]

Not really, they want to build a bullpen that can go from the 6th inning if necessary, and certainly from 7-9 without a hitch.

so a fat, overpaid complainer with nothing left in the tank is the 6th inning/7th inning answer for the next two years? it makes no sense to me at all for arizona to take on heath bell. none.

[SlideRule]

They said on the weekend they likely won't be resigning Gomes. So yeah, your #4 is the plan.

I meant that all four of the points were likely to be outcomes of this trade.

[Judge Jude]

Has there been a better 1-2 'pen punch than Putz/DHernandez the last 2 years?

A rival owner paid 23 for Putz in our 2011 auction. I paid 1 for D-Hern.
We each kept our guy in 2012, and plan to do so again for one final year in 2013.

That NEVER happens with a bullpen 1-2 punch, where are both are well worth it both years and the expectation is that they will be again.

A little annoyed that Bell could possibly gum up the works, but I also have Cishek for 10 in FLA, so...

Any word on the likelihood of Marlins acquiring a "real" closer to bump off Cishek?

[Erik]

Any word on the likelihood of Marlins acquiring a "real" closer to bump off Cishek?

That would mean spending money, so I doubt it.

[Hornsby]

so a fat, overpaid complainer with nothing left in the tank is the 6th inning/7th inning answer for the next two years? it makes no sense to me at all for arizona to take on heath bell. none.

He turned things around in the 2nd half last year and had a 27-9 K to walk rate. He's got plenty left, and if he starts to complain, I suspect that Gibson will take him behind the bullpen and beat him senseless with a bat.

[Cobain's Ghost]

He turned things around in the 2nd half last year and had a 27-9 K to walk rate. He's got plenty left, and if he starts to complain, I suspect that Gibson will take him behind the bullpen and beat him senseless with a bat.

meh. there are other middle relievers who can give you that k-bb without the big salary and the failed closer ego and the age and the fat and the other inflated stats and the declining career arc. it seems silly to me to gamble that much money on heath bell returning to peak performance at this stage of his career. he might be ok, but i'd rather pay another guy without all that baggage half the money to pitch my 6th or 7th inning.

[joncarlos]

meh. there are other middle relievers who can give you that k-bb without the big salary and the failed closer ego and the age and the fat and the other inflated stats and the declining career arc. it seems silly to me to gamble that much money on heath bell returning to peak performance at this stage of his career. he might be ok, but i'd rather pay another guy without all that baggage half the money to pitch my 6th or 7th inning.

I read that the Marlins are kicking in 8mil. If that's the case, then they're paying Bell 2 years, 6mil, which is pretty solid for a 7th inning guy who might have something left in the tank. If they really didn't want Young, they cleared his salary and added a real defensive shortstop in Pennington.

Now I know that's a lot of spin, but it's possible this isn't a terrible idea for the Snakes.

Of course, if my team needed a CF, I'd rather pay $8.5m for 1 year of Chris Young than 5/100 for Josh Hamilton or 6/100 for BJ Upton. So I do think Young might have had more value than AZ got in this deal.

[Cobain's Ghost]

I read that the Marlins are kicking in 8mil. If that's the case, then they're paying Bell 2 years, 6mil, which is pretty solid for a 7th inning guy who might have something left in the tank. If they really didn't want Young, they cleared his salary and added a real defensive shortstop in Pennington.

Now I know that's a lot of spin, but it's possible this isn't a terrible idea for the Snakes.

Of course, if my team needed a CF, I'd rather pay $8.5m for 1 year of Chris Young than 5/100 for Josh Hamilton or 6/100 for BJ Upton. So I do think Young might have had more value than AZ got in this deal.

sounds like we have different math going here. i thought it was:

miami pays $8 million of the $21 million left on his contract. that covers the $3 million dollar signing bonus that he hasn't been paid yet, leaving $5 million to offset his $9 million dollar salary in 2013 + $9 million in 2014.

given his recent performance and his baggage and his diminished role, i wouldn't gamble on heath bell being worth $6.5 million per year over the next two years. i think that's too much money for a good 6th inning/ 7th inning guy, and there are a lot of reasons to think that he won't be all that good.