In a pretty significant three team trade that seemingly developed out of nowhere and reached a conclusion rather quickly, the Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired reliever Heath Bell, who struggled mightily in the first year of his three-year, $27 million contract with the Miami Marlins, while shipping away disappointing outfielder Chris Young to the Oakland A's.
Those are the two biggest names involved in the deal that was made official via announcements from all three teams involved on Saturday afternoon. Further details also have the Diamondbacks acquiring infielder Cliff Pennington from Oakland, which is interesting because the trade these two teams made on Aug. 21 involving shortstop Stephen Drew is what likely made Pennington expendable. And while the Marlins may just be thrilled to get rid of Bell's issues, attitude and most of his contract, they will also accept 22-year-old shortstop prospect Yordy Cabrera from Oakland.
Got all that?
Good. Now here are the exact financial details on Heath Bell's involvement in the trade as reported by the Miami Herald's Clark Spencer,
#marlins agree to pay $8 million of $21 million still owed to Heath Bell in order to complete deal
— clarkspencer (@clarkspencer) October 20, 2012
So the Marlins not only get rid of another major headache, they won't be forced to eat the majority of said headache's contract, and they also get a middle of the road prospect in return. Not a bad day at the office for president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest and his crew. Not a bad day at all.
"This should be a positive change for Heath and the Marlins," Beinfest said. "After a disappointing 2012 season, Heath gets a fresh start and this move gives us clarity as we begin our offseason roster improvement."
Arizona general manager Kevin Towers has already confirmed that Bell will move into a setup role initially with J.J. Putz remaining their closer. That should take some pressure off Bell, although being removed from the closer's role didn't really serve him well or make him any happier in Miami. But hey, at least he's a lot closer to his home and family in San Diego. That should enhance the happiness factor a bit.
As for Oakland's haul, they add Chris Young to an already impressive outfield that includes Yoenis Cespedes, Coco Crisp, Josh Reddick and Seth Smith. It's possible another shoe will drop there, but just as likely Billy Beane will enjoy having depth and versatility to work with entering 2013. That would mean Young, who's connected for 34 home runs but hit for a lousy .234 average over the past two seasons, would have to earn his role. But that may just be the motivation he needs to finally reach his potential and sustain production at age 29.
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Oh, sorry, our mistake: That's actually the new scoreboard at Wings Stadium, part of a $2 million renovation. (Click here for a larger image of this monstrosity.)
Score and situation: The St. Louis Cardinals took command of the NLCS and put themselves one win away from a World Series return with an overpowering 8-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night.
Key play: The botched play at the plate in the fifth inning was chaotic and seemed to be the dagger for San Francisco. Center fielder Angel Pagan did a nice job keeping Matt Holliday's frozen rope single in front of him and started the process of what should have been an out at home. Unfortunately, Brandon Crawford's relay throw was in the grass and catcher Hector Sanchez went for the tag before securing the ball, allowing it to trickle away. Carpenter was dead to rights if the play was executed, but as it was he touched home and Holliday moved into scoring position himself setting up another Cardinal run.
Head hangers: CC Sabathia may have saved the Yankees against the Orioles in the ALDS, but he wasn't worth the wait in this series. The big lefty lasted only 3 2/3 innings, giving up five earned runs, two homers and 11 hits. New York's entire lineup was also blameworthy with Robinson Cano posting an 0 for 4 to cap a 3-for-40 postseason that has seen him collect as many hits as St. Louis pitcher Chris Carpenter.
Select players and coaches from the Whalers will be mic'd up, just like you'd see on a television broadcast, and the app will also feature pre-game and in-between period interviews with players and coaches.
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