Texas Rangers Notes: Why Heath Bell May Not Be a Ranger After All

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With the trade deadline almost exactly a month away, the talk surrounding how to change and strengthen the Texas Rangers' bullpen will become a hot topic of conversation.

The one name who has continued to come up is San Diego Padres' closer Heath Bell. He's a guy the Rangers would love to have and a guy who would be a great fit at the back end of the bullpen.

But there's just one problem.


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Bell is a free agent after this season and there is no guarantee he will sign a long term deal with Texas. Being 34-years old and seemingly at back end of his career, Bell wants to go where he can finally win a championship.

He's been with the San Diego Padres for five seasons now and knows there really isn't a light at the end of their tunnel. At least not any time soon.

The Padres are going to look for some young prospects from any team showing interest. The Rangers will be one of those teams but the fear is having it end up as another "Cliff Lee deal." In other words, send prospects to San Diego for a three month rental.

Texas sent Justin Smoak to Seattle at the trade deadline last season in return for Lee even though they knew there was a good possibility he would end up going elsewhere once the season was over. Nolan Ryan didn't seem as convinced, even saying at times he felt confident that they would be able to get a deal done and bring Lee back for the 2011 season.

But, no matter how much they tried to talk to him and woo him back to Arlington, Lee did what was best for him and his family, eventually signing with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Well, as it turns out, the Rangers might have to compete with the Phillies once more. According to ESPN's Buster Olney, Philadelphia is apparently asking around for bullpen help and could turn their sights directly to the west coast and Heath Bell.

With Jose Contreras out four to six weeks with a strained forearm, it's only natural they would start shopping around to see who's available. The Phillies, already boasting the likes of Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, and the aforementioned Lee, would be an enticing place for Bell at this point in his career.

But unless the Rangers can talk Bell in to signing long term as a part of a trade, general manager Jon Daniels along with Nolan Ryan, might have a hard time giving up top prospects for yet another rental. Even with Bell in the mix, this team is still a long shot to get back to the World Series, let alone repeat as ALCS Champions.

New York Mets Release Left-Hander Oliver Perez

The Oliver Perez era is officially over in New York after the Mets released the left-hander this morning. This came after the release of second baseman Luis Castillo who has been signed by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Perez signed a three-year $36 million extension in 2009, an extension the team quickly wished they wouldn't have signed.

The left-hander started 14 games in 2009, finishing with a 3-4 record and a 6.82 ERA. Last season wasn't much better, going winless (0-5) through seven starts and a 6.80 through 46.1 innings pitched.

With the release of Castillo and Perez, the Mets had to eat more than $18 million to get rid of both players. While one has already been picked up, it won't take long for Perez to be landed by a team that is willing to take a risk for what could be a major pitching overhaul.

There could be a pitching coach out there who can work on his mechanics and delivery, eventually finding a diamond in the rough.

With spring training wrapping up in the next few weeks, there will be teams looking for pitching both in the rotation as well as the bullpen.

Perez should find a home in no time.


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When Cliff Lee Signed With the Phillies, the Ranger Fans Got Their Feelings Hurt

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All baseball fans wanted to talk about from the moment the off season started was "where will Cliff Lee sign." That was the topic of conversation around just about every water cooler, television station, and radio microphone in the Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex.

They were almost certain they were going to bring the left-hander back and they were sure he was going to be wearing a Texas jersey for at least the next six to seven years of his career.

They were wrong.

Last night, news broke that Lee had not only scored the Rangers, but he also passed on the New York Yankees to sign with the team he played for in 2009, the Philadelphia Phillies. He did so and took less money in the process.

As I woke up this morning and checked Twitter, I was surprised at what I saw. Ranger fans were acting like they had been stabbed in the back and comparisons to LeBron James were being made. That's when I shook my head and wondered how things could get this bad?

The only comparison that can be made is going to a team that's already stacked with talent. After that, the comparisons stop.

Why are you fans so up in arms anyway? Did Lee tell the Rangers he was going to re-sign with them? Not from what I've heard. Not only that, but Lee called Rangers' general manager Jon Daniels personally to let him know of his decision. He didn't go to that extent for the Yankees.

So why are you upset again?

Lee got you past the Rays and Yankees to get to the World Series. He did what you brought him in to do and, above all that, you really didn't give away much to get him. If anything, you got him for a much cheaper price than the going rate.

The Texas Rangers wanted him, badly. They were hoping they could bring him back to be their ace and the leader of their clubhouse. It's not a team that can't contend in the AL West especially since the Angels, A's, and Mariners really haven't done anything to improve themselves from last season.

Major League Baseball's off season isn't done and pitchers and catchers don't report for another two months so there are some changes still to be made. But, as of this moment, the Rangers are still the team to beat.

From here, the Rangers will look in to acquiring Kansas City's Zack Greinke or Tampa Bay's Matt Garza, however, they can't just throw caution to the wind and do whatever it takes to acquire either player. The team still needs to be smart because they are still building to win not only in 2011 but far beyond that.

Cliff Lee isn't coming back to Texas and no amount of crying and whining about it is going to change anything. It's best to get over it and move on because there are still moves to be made and players to acquire.

This Rangers' ball club is not done by a longshot. Don't jump off the bandwagon just yet.

Cliff Lee: Did His Son's Illness Have a Big Part in His Decision?

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Cliff Lee finally made the decision that a lot of us were waiting for, but where he ended up surprised everyone and left fans in Texas and New York wondering how he could leave so much money on the table just to sign with someone else?

Late last night, word came down that Lee had signed a five-year $100 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, ending all of the speculation about where he would possibly end up. But why Philadelphia? Why not New York or Texas who were offered more money?

Well, that's a question that a lot of people are asking this morning but it's a question that might have a much different answer than any of us expected. According to a radio station in Dallas, they have a source who tells them Lee's son is battling a form of leukemia and they know the best hospital in the country is in the Philadelphia area.

So whatever people want to say about him stacking the deck and playing with three of the best pitchers in the game today, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Colt Hamels, it seems like there was a much different motivation. The motivation of a father.

Though this information isn't confirmed and isn't being reported anywhere that I've seen, it might shed a little bit of a light on why Lee actually started the conversations with the Phillies and why the deal moved so quickly.

Cliff Lee Headed Back to Philadelphia?

Morry Gash - AP

We've all been talking about the Cliff Lee sweepstakes and where he might end up. However, the only two teams that always come up are the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees.


But there was a mystery team that continued to hang around. Some thought it was just a tale being told to force one or both teams to up their offers but there were others who continued to insist that there was a third team with an offer on the table.

Earlier this evening, it seems that third team came to light and according to SI.com's Jon Heyman it was the Philadelphia Phillies.

Here's where things get tricky.

The Phillies don't have near the offer that the Rangers and Yankees do and according to rumors floating around, it's somewhere in the neighborhood of $70 million less than the other two offers. That's a large chunk of change to leave on the table.

However, if Lee does end up signing with Philadelphia which seems to be close to a foregone conclusion, than he can honestly say it was never about the money.

If this does come to pass, the Phillies will definitely have arguably the best pitching rotation, at least on paper, in baseball history.