DALLAS — On the one hand, a number of the top closers on the market have already found their homes this offseason. The Phillies got the ball rolling by signing Jonathan Papelbon away from the Red Sox to a four-year deal. The Marlins signed Heath Bell. The Rangers added Joe Nathan on a two-year deal. The Twins re-upped with Matt Capps on a one-year deal.

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, struck a deal with the White Sox to send highly regarded pitching prospect Nestor Molina to Chicago for right-hander Sergio Santos, a converted shortstop who had an eye-popping 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings as the White Sox closer last year.

“His stuff is just so good,” said Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos. “In our division, if you can get a guy with that kind of power stuff and strikeout ability, certainly it’s someone we feel has a chance to be a lock-down guy and for a long period of time.”

The Red Sox, according to a major league source, never engaged in serious discussions with the White Sox about Santos. Indeed, it appears that the White Sox did not shop Santos or make his potential availability widely known to generate a larger market for the right-hander.

Anthopoulos suggested that he had talked with White Sox GM Kenny Williams “about 85 times” over several months about Santos, typically receiving a flat no to inquiries, only to have the deal come together quickly late on Monday night in Chicago’s suite. Read the rest of this entry »

DALLAS — For closer Heath Bell, the progression seemed natural. At the beginning of the offseason, he thought that there might be a possibility that he would land with the Phillies. When the Phillies signed former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, Bell assumed that Boston might come calling.

“Honestly, when [Papelbon] left the Red Sox, I thought there was an opportunity,” Bell said at the winter meetings, following a press conference where his three-year, $27 million deal with the Miami Marlins was announced. “I thought, ‘Red Sox would be cool. I’ve got an inside track. I know [Red Sox first baseman and former Padres teammate Adrian Gonzalez] real well.’

“I know Adrian made a couple phone calls. But for whatever reason, the contract that they offered wasn’t living up to what my guys thought we could get. They said other clubs did offer a little bit more. I thought this was the best fit for me and my family. The National League East is definitely open. The Marlins can definitely win this year.”

Since emerging as Padres closer in 2009, Bell has been among the best in the game. Over the last three years, he has a 2.36 ERA with more than a strikeout an inning while averaging 44 saves a year. That made him, along with Papelbon, one of the premier closers on the market this winter, but the Sox did not pursue him as aggressively as did Miami. Asked whether the Sox’ offer came up short in years or dollars, Bell, 34, said, “A little bit of both.”

The years, Bell suggested, were particularly important. He felt that teams that did not come up to three years would leave him in too uncertain a state going forward.

“I really wanted to know that I was going to be someplace for multiple years. I didn’t want to go someplace for a year or two. I wanted to build something there,” said Bell. “I’m a huge guy of the community. I wanted to do as much as I can to help the organization out. I don’t think in one or two years you can do that. I think you can put your stamp on two, three, four years.”

Now, he will have the opportunity to do that with a Marlins team that is suddenly spending more aggressively than any other free agent in baseball this offseason as it prepares to move into a new ballpark.

Heath Bell

Another closer apparently is off the market, as Padres free agent Heath Bell reportedly has agreed to a three-year deal with the Marlins. Bell is expected to earn $9 million per season, with a vesting option for a fourth year.

Bell, who reportedly will take a physical Friday in Florida, had 43 saves in 2011, making him the only player with 40-plus saves the past three seasons. The 34-year-old right-hander saw his strikeout numbers dip from 11.1 per nine innings in 2010 t 7.3 this year, but the rest of his stats were as impressive as they’ve been of late.

Leo Nunez closed for the Marlins last season, but there are questions about his status after it was revealed that his name really is Juan Oviedo and he had to travel back to the Dominican Republic to sort out the identity issue. The Marlins placed him on the restricted list on Sept. 22.

Heath Bell

Free agent closer Heath Bell had expressed a wish last week to stay on his native west coast, where he has spent the last five years of his career as a member of the Padres. But SI.com’s Jon Heyman tweeted late Monday night that San Diego is “not too optimistic” that it will be able to re-sign Bell now.

Heyman reports that the Padres have offered Bell a two-year contract, but that Bell can likely get a three-year contract worth $30 million or more elsewhere. While Bell had said that he wanted to stay in California in a radio interview last week, he did say that he would be interested in both the Phillies and the Red Sox as well. But Philadelphia is not a viable option for Bell after the team signed former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon to a four-year, $50-million contract over the weekend. Boston has yet to sign a replacement for Papelbon.

Bell has recorded 132 saves over his last three seasons since taking over the closer’s role with the Padres. Last season, Bell had a 2.44 ERA and 43 saves.

Reliever Heath Bell has spent the past five years with the Padres, the last three as one of the league’s most consistent closers. On Sirius XM Radio yesterday, the free agent Bell said he would prefer to stay on the West coast with either the Padres, Angels or Dodgers. But there are two East coast teams that would interest the California native: the Phillies and the Red Sox.

Boston is currently in need of a closer, as Jonathan Papelbon is a free agent this offseason. Bell would be a competent replacement for Papelbon, perhaps at a lower price.

The 34-year-old reliever had 132 saves for the Padres over the last three years. Last season, Bell had a 2.44 ERA with 51 strikeouts to go along with 43 saves. Between 2010 and 2011, Bell saved 41 straight games, the fifth-longest streak in MLB history.

Bell made $7.5 million last season; by comparison, Papelbon made $12 million in 2011.

Mike Adams

Multiple reports are indicating that the Rangers have acquired reliever Mike Adams from San Diego for two minor leaguers, Robert Erlin and Joseph Wieland. Initially, Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reported the Padres traded closer Heath Bell to the Rangers. Check back for more information as it becomes available.

Heath Bell

If Padres closer Heath Bell is indeed shipped out of San Diego before Sunday’s trade deadline, he may not have to travel too far to his next destination. FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal tweeted that the Angels are looking at a trade for the reliever.

The Halos are actually tied for first in the American League with 29 saves, led by 24 from 23-year-old Jordan Walden, while its bullpen rank fourth with a 3.31 collective ERA so a move for Bell may be filed under the “You can never have too much pitching” category. Bell has 29 saves of his own in 2011 to go with a 2.40 ERA and 1.16 WHIP.

The Rangers, who lead the Angels by two games in the AL West, were another team believed to be hot on the hunt for Bell’s services.