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The Arizona Diamondbacks saved money by trading reliever Heath Bell and the roughly $6.5 million he was owed for 2014, but it came at the cost of pitching prospect David Holmberg.
In a complicated three-team deal, the Diamondbacks sent Bell to the Tampa Bay Rays and Holmberg to the Cincinnati Reds. In exchange, they acquired low-level pitching prospect Justin Choate and a player to be named later.
Along with Bell, the Rays also are receiving money – the Diamondbacks reportedly are including $500,000 in the deal – and catcher Ryan Hanigan.
The Diamondbacks are expecting to use the money they saved to upgrade their starting rotation or add a power bat to the lineup.
Holmberg, acquired as part of the Edwin Jackson/Daniel Hudson deal with the White Sox in July 2010, is viewed as a potential back-of-the-rotation starting pitcher. He posted a 2.75 ERA in 26 starts for Double-A Mobile and has a 3.40 ERA in his minor league career, in which he has averaged eight strikeouts, compared to only 2.5 walks, per nine innings.
Choate, a right-hander began the year with the Roswell Invaders before signing with the Rays, had a 2.88 ERA in 40 2/3 innings in the short-season New York-Penn League.
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