Fire Gardy

According to the always excellent Craig Calcaterra (via Bob Nightengale), the Twins are scouting Padres closer Heath Bell.  I don’t think Joe Nathan can avoid TJ surgery, so kicking the tires on some proven closers won’t hurt.  As I recall the price for Bell was pretty steep last year, so I can’t imagine it going down after his strong 2009 campaign. 

However, if the price is reasonable, the Twins should pull the trigger.  Bell isn’t making much this year ($4 million according to the article) and would fit nicely in the back of the bullpen.  The two major red flags on Bell are he is coming from an extreme pitchers park in the NL, so who knows how that will translate to Target Field.  Like I said, it can’t hurt to kick the tires on some proven guys to replace Nathan, but I don’t see any fire behind this smoke.