Yesterday we discussed the Texas Rangers' hunt for a quality bullpen arm to help lock down the eighth inning and move Darren Oliver and Arthur Rhodes back to their preferred roles as seventh-inning guys.
Obviously, Neftali Feliz is the team's closer and will be for the foreseeable future.
But that foreseeable future isn't as long down the road as many think.
The Rangers have already discussed acquiring Joel Hanrahan from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hanrahan is under contract until 2013 and would allow the Rangers move him to closer and move Feliz to the starting rotation next season to be a part of what's shaping up to be a pretty killer rotation.
Bullpen arms are a dime a dozen and are much easier to get than quality starters, but now the Rangers are in discussions for one of the top closers in the game, Heath Bell of the San Diego Padres.
Bell took over for Trevor Hoffman and the Padres haven't dropped off at all in that department.
According to CBSsports.com, the Rangers and many other teams have inquired about Bell, but the Padres aren't ready to pull the trigger yet as they are waiting to decide if they will be a buyer or seller come the trade deadline in July.
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The biggest issue with Bell is that he's a free agent after the season ends so it would be the same type deal as the Cliff Lee trade was last season and he could be gone next season, which would defeat the purpose of the plan to move Feliz to the rotation next season.
