Heath Bell was claimed by the Giants Wednesday, prompting fans to simultaneously scream for joy (Bell is really good) and breathe a deep, concern-filled sigh (does this mean that Brian Wilson is really hurt bad?).
As we mentioned, there were several reasons for the Giants decision, one of which could have simply been the need to block other teams -- *cough* Diamondbacks *cough* -- from claiming him.
There's a decent chance the Giants would have done this for Jim Thome as well, were he to have made it to them. After all, it's precisely what they did with Cody Ross last year, except the Marlins didn't want him and he ended up becoming a hero.
Bell's unlikely to become that hero -- multiple reports indicate that the Giants aren't prepared to try and trade for him, and he's pretty clearly not prepared to join the Giants.
"I'm going to do fantasy football on the off day," Bell said Wednesday. "And hang out at the pool and go see a couple of movies and sweat my butt off when I go running in Arizona for Friday's game. I've learned rumors are rumors."
Additionally, Pads manager Bud Black told Bell, "You're not going anywhere."
It's believed he's simply predicting the future.
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But given what the Padres would want in exchange for Bell -- at minimum, the two prospects they'll get in compensation when he leaves for free agency -- it's not hard to do some deductive reasoning and never expect to see him in a Giants uniform.
