Joe Nathan's Replacement Could Be Found in San Diego

It's nothing new. It seems like every year the Minnesota Twins are going into a season missing a key player and that there is no way the team will be able to overcome their loss. Be it Torii Hunter or Johan Santana, maybe even having to survive the entire month of April without Joe Mauer.

Each one of these absences or injuries is supposed to kill the Twins, yet there they are every September. At the top of the AL Central or within striking distance. So now that they're faced with the prospect of being without Joe Nathan for the entire season, there are plenty of people who are writing them off once again.

They shouldn't be.

I don't know if the Twins will be able to replace Nathan from within the organization. Jon Rauch is the favorite to take Nathan's role at the start of the season, but that doesn't mean he's going to keep the job. Odds are that the Twins will find some pitcher from their farm system that you've never heard of, he'll step into the closer's role and be lights out.

It's just the way things work in Minnesota.

Though even if the Twins' closer situation doesn't work that way, that doesn't mean they won't fix it by the end of the year. These are no longer your younger version of yourself's Minnesota Twins. Gone are the days when they have to get by with low-priced players thanks to a minimal payroll.

No, they have the new stadium now, and a whole lot of extra revenue coming through the Twin Cities. This is a team that has a payroll north of $90 million in 2010. Yes, that's right. The Minnesota Twins are spending $90 million.

They're one of the big boys now, and with Nathan being out, they need to take advantage of this new philosophy. If the Twins don't have a pitcher in the organization ready to take over for Nathan, they have the pieces to go get one. There aren't many general managers around the game of baseball who haven't noticed the way the Twins churn out young talent on the baseball diamond.

Now this isn't to say that the Twins will definitely be looking to trade for a closer. A source has already told FanHouse that there are "no frontrunners or certainty [they will] acquire" anybody, but if they do decide to go that route, they have options.

There could be a team out there that is still working on a limited payroll, and possibly has a closer on their roster they wouldn't mind parting ways with, the Twins would be an ideal trade partner.

Yes, I'm looking squarely at you, San Diego.

The Padres are going to be active at the trade deadline this season, but it's not just going to be from all the phone calls asking about Adrian Gonzalez. They're also willing to move the National League leader in saves in 2009, Heath Bell.

Now this deal isn't going to get done in the first few months of the season as the Padres are going to make sure they don't have a chance to make the playoffs -- and nobody seems poised to run away with the NL West -- before moving their valuable parts, but come June or July if they appear to be out of contention and the Twins are still looking for a closer, these two teams will talk.

Bell would be a better fit than Kerry Wood -- another name likely to come up -- because he's on a one-year deal and will only make $4 million in 2010, while Wood is owed $10.5 million. The Twins may be spending money these days, but they haven't reached the point where they're just going to throw it around. Plus it's a lot easier to give up young talent to a team in a different league and on the other side of the country than one in your own division.

Bell would also give the Twins a better option for the future. If Nathan does undergo Tommy John surgery, he'll definitely miss the 2010 season, and there's a chance he'll miss part of 2011 as well. There's also the fact that Nathan is 35 years old.

While pitchers have a lot more success returning from such surgeries these days, there's no guarantee that Nathan will be able to come back. It's also likely that when he does return, he may be able to pitch, but he might not be the same Joe Nathan we usually see.

So the Twins need to make a move with the future in mind, not just 2010, and ringing Bell's number is their best bet.