Heath Bell

The Washington Nationals' moves this offseason have them poised to challenge for a World Series title immediately, but life goes on beyond 2015, and so do the careers of the team's latest acquisitions.

The New York Yankees have come to terms on a minor league deal with former San Diego Padres closer Heath Bell, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.

While there are still a number of MLB free agents available, most of the top options are already off of the market. This has caused teams around the league to look toward trades to improve the roster for next season.

Of course, franchises are smart enough to avoid giving away a player for nothing. This will keep potential deals from moving quickly as the negotiation process continues through the start of the regular season.

The Miami Marlins signed Heath Bell in the offseason as part of their expensive and aggressive push to win in their new stadium for 2012.

If anything has gone over worse than the dancing Marlins statue in center field, it has been Heath Bell's first year in Florida.

Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen has decided to pull offseason acquisition Heath Bell from the closer's role "for a few days," reports Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post.

As we head into the dog days of August, Jays fans are just now starting to get excited over the prospects of this team.

Usually around this time of year, it's the lull in the schedule where teams usually just try and play out the string until September, but for the Jays, things look completely different.

The Jays are fighting game in and game out, and are 57-55 in 102 games this season. The team was expected to maybe win at most 75 games this season, so they are definitely ahead of expectations.

For three years running, San Diego closer Heath Bell has been the subject of trade discussions and rumors and the trade deadline.

Yet, Bell still remains a Padre despite this season being the time when everyone was positively sure he was on the move, most notably to either Texas or St. Louis.

Less than a few days passed after the 2011 MLB All-Star game before the first major trade domino fell as the July 31st trade deadline creeps closer.

What was once a position of great stability has turned into a position of dire need for the Twins over the last 16 months and has been further magnified over the last several weeks.

As we close in on the July 31st MLB trade deadline, many teams are in the market for a shutdown closer. 

Closers can serve two purposes for these teams.

In the case of the St. Louis Cardinals, Fernando Salas has been more or less serviceable, but without Eduardo Sanchez, they could use another option in the ninth inning.

Other teams hope to make use of a closer acting as a lights-out setup man.