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Heath Bell talks trade, maybe to Angels

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The San Diego Padres are in last place in the National League West. Their All-Star closer, Heath Bell, is eligible for free agency after the season. Little surprise, then, that Bell is resigned to a trade in the coming weeks.

‘Do I want that to happen? No,’ he said at Monday’s All-Star game interview session in Phoenix. ‘Is it a reality? Yes, and I’m fine with it.’

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Bell said he would give his all to the Padres until then, and he followed with a pretty good listing of his potential suitors.

‘When they tell me I’m going to Philly, St. Louis, Texas, the Yankees, the Angels -- wherever it is -- I’ll give my all to them,’ Bell said.

Bell said he intends to market himself only as a closer in free agency but would not object if a team traded for him to pitch the seventh or eighth inning for the rest of this season. ‘If they ask me to set up the last two months of the season, I’ll do it,’ he said.

Bell said he has noted that Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon also is eligible for free agency this fall.

‘My friend Adrian [Gonzalez] is over there,’ Bell said. ‘I wanted to see if I could go over there.’

In all seriousness, Bell said he has not worried too much about where he wants to sign next season, other than that he wants to sign somewhere.

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‘I really don’t want to be unemployed,’ he said.

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-- Bill Shaikin in Phoenix

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