MLB Trade Speculation: Why Heath Bell Is What the St. Louis Cardinals Need

With the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers neck and neck at the head of the National League Central division, making moves at the trade deadline will be of the utmost importance.

The Brewers have already made the first move, grabbing Francisco Rodriguez from the New York Mets for a couple of minor league prospects.

With the Pittsburgh Pirates (seriously) and the Cincinnati Reds lurking close behind, the pressure is now on the Cardinals to make a move.

The Redbirds finally have all their starters healthy. They have Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman and David Freese playing together for the first time since mid-April.

Meanwhile, the starting pitchers have been excellent so far this season, so there really isn’t much of a need to make a move in that department.

That leaves the bullpen. Opening Day closer Ryan Franklin has been cut, Trever Miller and Miguel Batista have struggled, Mitchell Boggs and Jason Motte have been inconsistent and Eduardo Sanchez is injured. Fernando Salas has been the only reliable reliever for the Cardinals this season.

So the bullpen situation needs to be addressed. Who better to address that situation than Heath Bell, the San Diego Padres’ flamethrowing closer? He’s been one of the best closers in baseball the past two seasons.

The Cardinals don’t have a whole lot in the way of minor league prospects, but they could probably put together a good enough package to acquire Bell.

Allen Craig could draw some interest. Also, Colby Rasmus is probably available for the right price (though I’d like the Cardinals to hold on to him).

If the Cardinals could get Bell from the Padres, they could make him the new ninth-inning guy, move Salas to the eighth inning and then mix and match the rest of the relievers as needed.

The Cardinals need to make a move in their bullpen if they want to stay competitive during the second half of the season. Heath Bell would make them the favorites to win the NL Central.