Mariners Offering Three Players For Bedard?
On Monday, Phil Rogers wrote of the Mariners’ continuing pursuit of Baltimore’s Erik Bedard. He says the Ms are shopping a package including Adam Jones, Jeff Clement, and Yung Chi Chen. Rogers notes that the O’s would probably require Brandon Morrow. This is the first time we’ve seen Chen’s name as part of a Bedard deal. He doesn’t fall within Seattle’s top 14 prospects, according to Kevin Goldstein.
Our previous Bedard update came four days ago, with info supplied by Jeff Zrebiec and John Fay. At that time Andy MacPhail said there was a "strong likelihood" that Bedard is the Orioles’ Opening Day starter in 2008.
Odds and Ends: A-Rod, Morrow, Cabrera
The daily, and sometimes twice daily, odds n’ ends roundup…
- A site called You Been Blinded got its hands on the huge A-Rod binder Scott Boras handed out in 2000.
- The Mariners are highly unlikely to trade young hurler Brandon Morrow or start him in Triple A.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski stated his desire to sign Miguel Cabrera long-term. The lack of an extension window was a big reason why the Angels dropped out on Cabrera.
- Talking Chop breaks down the Braves’ payroll and finds they have about $83MM committed.
Erik Bedard Rumors: Wednesday
UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 1:10am: Geoff Baker believes the Mariners are still in on Bedard, and that no team has beaten their offer yet. However, that offer still may not be enough for Andy MacPhail and Co.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 1:38pm: Jon Heyman says Bedard turned down a three-year extension offer from the Orioles. He has some interesting thoughts; check it out.
Meanwhile there’s chatter of a 610 WIP report coming out of Philly about the team’s attempts to acquire Bedard. Something like Kyle Kendrick, Shane Victorino, Carlos Carrasco, and others. I don’t put much stock in this one as the Orioles could do much better.
FROM 12-5-07 at 1:59am:
Tuesday ended with 11 teams expressing interest in Erik Bedard. Let’s start a new thread for today’s rumors.
Geoff Baker cautiously names the Mariners the frontrunners for Bedard, now that the Dodgers have vowed not to give up Jonathan Broxton. He says the front office is salivating over Bedard and could offer up some combination of Adam Jones, Wladimir Balentien, Brandon Morrow, and George Sherrill.
Latest Erik Bedard Rumors: Tuesday
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:36pm: Geoff Baker says that a Bedard trade with the Mariners would likely involve Wladimir Balentien, Adam Jones, and Brandon Morrow.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:06pm: The Dodgers met with the Orioles to talk Bedard today. Ned Colletti has pretty much deemed Broxton untouchable, and no deal is close.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 10:19pm: John Fay says the Reds are seriously pursuing Bedard. Wayne Krivsky won’t reveal much, but Fay thinks Bailey, Votto, and another prospect might interest the Orioles.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 10:16pm: The Mets again offered Heilman, Gomez, and Humber for Bedard, perhaps thinking that offering it twice would be helpful. MLB.com’s Marty Noble says the Mets may reconfigure their offer, replacing Humber with Pelfrey or Mulvey.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 4:10pm: Joel Sherman confirms the Cubs’ interest, so that’s officially 11 teams in on Bedard. Sherman says the Yankees and Mets are unlikely to snag the southpaw ace, and names the Dodgers as the frontrunner. Peter Angelos is letting Andy MacPhail run the show but doesn’t want Bedard traded within the division. Sorry Yankees and Blue Jays.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 3:10pm: Nick Cafardo notes that Cubs GM Jim Hendry and Andy MacPhail had lunch today, which leads him to believe they may have discussed Bedard. A bit of a stretch since Hendry and MacPhail used to work together. Then again the Cubs did pursue in a Mark Prior/Miguel Tejada deal a few years back. The Cubs would represent the 11th team in on Bedard.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 3:01pm: Buster Olney says the Jays continue to talk with the Orioles about Bedard, noting that the Jays have the young pitching. Bedard would certainly represent the Canadian draw they’ve been looking for.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 2:16pm: There is growing buzz that the Dodgers may get Bedard. ESPN’s Amy Nelson has a source saying a deal may be close. Matt Kemp and Jonathan Broxton would be the main pieces of a trade. Readers are reporting in that WFAN is saying the same.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 9:32am: The Mets are still hawking Gomez, trying to get Bedard. Joel Sherman adds the Tigers to the list of teams after Bedard, bringing the total to ten. He says the Tigers and Phils are getting creative trying to get Bedard. The Tigers don’t need to get that creative – they can offer Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller.
FROM 12-4-07 at 8:45am:
How many teams are after Erik Bedard? The tally yesterday included the Phillies, Cardinals, Yankees, Mets, Mariners, Angels, Dodgers, and D’Backs – that’s eight. The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly check in with the latest on the Orioles’ ace.
- There’s been a ton of trade interest in Bedard (as you might expect). Andy MacPhail is still talking about signing him to an extension, but no one really buys it. The package he’ll get in trade should rival what the Twins get for Johan.
- The Dodgers, Mariners, and Mets have been pursuing Bedard the most aggressively. More meetings with the Mets should occur today. The Mariners could make an intriguing offer built around Adam Jones and Brandon Morrow.
- A new team is added to bring the tally to nine: the Reds are interested. However, Jay Bruce is off the table.
Erik Bedard Rumors: Monday
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:20am: MLB.com’s Jim Molony has a big ol’ post up at his blog. Molony names the Phillies and Cardinals as new teams interested in Bedard. Previously we’d learned that the Yankees, Mets, Mariners, Angels, Dodgers, and D’Backs had inquired. Neither the Phils nor the Cards would appear to have the goods in my estimation.
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 9:06pm: Andy MacPhail says he told the Washington Post that extension talks with Bedard had cooled, but the door remains open. Something have gotten lost in translation. MLB.com’s Spencer Fordin believes Bedard and Miguel Tejada could both be traded by week’s end, anyway.
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 4:55pm: Sounds like the Mariners might make a run at Bedard now, but it’d cost ’em Adam Jones, Brandon Morrow, and Jeff Clement. That bounty sounds about right.
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 2:38pm: ESPN 1050 via MetsBlog reports Andy MacPhail as saying he will meet with Omar Minaya while in Nashville to discuss Bedard again.
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 8:35am: I knew the Red Sox belonged in the mix for Bedard. Jayson Stark confirms their interest, and adds a new one in the Phillies. Stark also verifies that the Orioles want more for Bedard than the Twins want for Santana – as in four top youngsters. Stark’s source thinks the Orioles will hang onto Bedard.
FROM 12-2-07 at 11:30pm:
According to Dave Sheinin and Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post, Erik Bedard has informed the Orioles that he has no interest in signing an extension. He’s under Baltimore’s control through the 2009 season.
The authors indicate that Bedard would cost half the talent Johan Santana will. I don’t agree with that assertion – two years of a cheap Bedard is easily worth more than one of Santana, without question. If anything, Bedard should require more talent than Santana to pry loose.
According to Jeff Zrebiec, six teams have inquired on Bedard so far: the Yankees, Mets, Mariners, Angels, Dodgers, and Diamondbacks. The Mets reportedly made an offer of Lastings Milledge, Aaron Heilman, and Philip Humber to the Orioles before trading Milledge to Washington, according to the Roger Rubin of the Daily News. A source of Rubin’s believes replacing Milledge with Carlos Gomez or even Ryan Church would represent a superior offer. And to further the speculation, I think the Mets would have to replace Humber with Mike Pelfrey to really get the Orioles thinking. I repeat: Erik Bedard is worth more than Johan Santana.
Hat tip to MetsBlog on the Daily News link.