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Erik Bedard

Odds and Ends: Garces, Aquino, McPherson

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Let’s round up a few Saturday odds and ends.

  • Pitcher C.J. Nitkowski writes a semi-defense of Brian McNamee.  Nitkowski has his own blog and recently finished up a season in Japan.
  • According to Andrew Baggarly, the Giants have been in touch with Scott Boras regarding free agent corner infielder Dallas McPherson.  He missed the ’07 season with back surgery, but recently appeared in the Arizona Instructional League.  The 27 year-old has a career line of .247/.294/.461 in 360 ABs, including 121 strikeouts in those 117 games.  The 30 HR power may remain but he’ll need to show more than just that. 
  • Peter Abraham has a funny comment regarding the appearance of Rich Garces on the phony steroid list that circulated Thursday morning.  That bogus list actually hit my inbox the night before and it was an obvious delete.  I shouldn’t throw stones, because I have definitely put up a few bad trade rumors in my day.  But it was very surprising to see an NBC affiliate running with that crap on Thursday.
  • Andy MacPhail continues to leave the door open for an Erik Bedard contract extension.  That same article mentions the Orioles’ claim of 30 year-old reliever Greg Aquino.  Fantasy geeks recall Aquino’s stint as D’Backs closer in 2004, when they were the worst team in baseball.  Aquino supplanted Mike Koplove that summer. 

Reds Rumors: Bedard, Prior

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A break from your regularly scheduled steroid talk.  John Fay checks in on the Reds’ pursuit of starting pitching.

  • Fay says the Reds are still hopeful about getting Erik Bedard, and puts their chances at 50/50.  The Orioles still want Jay Bruce, and the Reds are still resisting.
  • Fay notes Dusty Baker told folks at the Meetings that he’d like to have Mark Prior.  Whether Prior would like to be under his watch again is the question.  As a 22 year-old in 2003, Prior ranked third in baseball in Pitcher Abuse Points per start.

Indians Rumors: Haren, Blanton, Bedard, Inge

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Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer gets the Indians rumor mill churning.

  • As we mentioned earlier today, the Indians have spoken to the A’s about Dan Haren and Joe Blanton.  They’ve also inquired on Erik Bedard.  The Tribe is quietly looking to pair C.C. Sabathia with another ace.  Such an acquisition would soften the blow if Sabathia leaves after the ’08 season.  Hoynes says a Haren acquisition might require one player from the Indians’ 25-man roster plus at least one near MLB-ready guy.
  • The Tribe had brief talks with Detroit about Brandon Inge, but they’ve moved on.  Doesn’t seem to be much interest in Inge.
  • Cliff Lee and Kelly Shoppach weren’t part of the Jason Bay discussions.  Instead, the Pirates were looking for a slew of the Indians’ best prospects.  It seems the Bay talks have since cooled.

Reds In Lead For Bedard?

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UPDATE, 12-10-07 at 2:47pm: I thought this link in the Cincinnati Enquirer was worth including here.  A member of the Reds’ organization rated the team’s chances of getting Bedard at 75%.  Should we consider them the frontrunners in this race?  Some talent would be coming into the NL, for once.  However, Ken Rosenthal believes the Reds’ unwillingness to include Jay Bruce may prevent this deal from happening.

FROM 12-8-07 at 9:05pm:

The Reds definitely have the talent to acquire Erik Bedard from the Orioles.  They may even be able to pull it off without including Jay Bruce.  John Fay believes Homer Bailey, Joey Votto, and a top prospect could work.  Johnny Cueto, a 21 year-old hard-throwing starter, would definitely be on the Orioles’ short list.  Those three would be a slam dunk for Baltimore.  Bedard could become a fashionable NL Cy Young pick, even pitching at Great American.

You could also imagine guys like Josh Hamilton and Edwin Encarnacion piquing Andy MacPhail’s interest.  There are many ways this deal could work.

Cardinals Could Make Rasmus Available

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Of course, they wouldn’t ship off the 21-year-old center fielder for just anyone. Erik Bedard is the target, according to Joe Strauss. In the weak NL Central (how many times have we all said that this winter?), Bedard is a potential difference-maker. He’d solidify a spotty starting rotation in St. Louis, though I suppose that’s true of any team he’d end up joining.

Rasmus alone won’t fetch Bedard, meaning other top prospects — Strauss mentions Bryan Anderson and Chris Perez — would have to be included. You can add 21-year-old lefty Jaime Garcia to the potential Orioles targers.

Strauss does note that two of the Cardinals’ young sluggers, Chris Duncan and Rick Akiel, likely won’t be dealt, since St. Louis is going to need their bats to go along with Albert Pujols.

Personally, I’m not sure St. Louis has enough to get it done. Their system isn’t all that great — though they could use that as a reason to empty it for Bedard and start over.

–Joe

Bedard Not On Cubs’ Radar

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We thought we had 12 teams in on Erik Bedard when the Red Sox were connected to him today.

However, Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald says Bedard is not on the Cubs’ radar screen.  The New York Post’s Joel Sherman had thrown them into the mix on Tuesday.  So it looks like we’re down to 11 teams for Bedard.

Two years ago, the Cubs seemingly offered Mark Prior for Bedard and Miguel Tejada.  My, how times have changed. 

Cubs Rumors: Fukudome, Prior, Roberts

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Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago-Sun Times checks in with the latest Cubs buzz.

  • The Cubs, Padres, and White Sox are in on Kosuke Fukudome.  It seems that both Chicago teams are willing to spend big bucks.
  • Wittenmyer’s source indicates sparse interest in Mark Prior, though the Cubs have been shopping him.  The Cubs could still choose to non-tender him on Wednesday rather than pay $3MM+.  Seems like a reasonable gamble though.
  • The Orioles want to figure out their plans with Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada before making a move with Brian Roberts, so talks with the Cubs have cooled.  The O’s want Sean Gallagher and a outfield prospect, but not Matt Murton.  Could 22 year-old Tyler Colvin be involved?  Felix Pie is said to be off-limits.  Colvin has drawn Steve Finley/Shawn Green comparisons from Baseball America.

Red Sox, Blue Jays and Erik Bedard

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A note from Jayson Stark’s recent column is making the rounds – that the offers the Orioles were hearing for Erik Bedard were coming from the Blue Jays and Red Sox.  Stark notes the strong improbability of Bedard being trade to a division rival.

The count of teams interested in Bedard reached 11 during the crazy Winter Meetings.  The Red Sox are the 12th team. 

Here’s the tally: Phillies, Cardinals, Yankees, Mets, Mariners, Angels, Dodgers, D’Backs, Reds, Cubs, Red Sox, and Blue Jays.  Toss out the AL East and we’re at 9.  Toss out the Phils and Cards for lack of top tier available youngsters too.  That leaves us with these 7: Mets, Mariners, Angels, Dodgers, D’Backs, Reds, and Cubs.

Phillies Not Getting Bedard

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UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 11:44am: Scott Lauber says the Phils and O’s haven’t discussed Bedard at the Meeings.  However, he seems to indicate that at some point prior the O’s told the Phils they don’t have the players to get it done.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote on Tuesday that the Phillies were initially told they didn’t match up but were still trying to get involved.

UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 11:04am: Todd Zolecki of the Philadelphia Inquirer shoots this one down, writing that the Phils and Orioles have not discussed Bedard.

FROM 12-6-07 at 9:33am:

According to Joe Haggerty of the Metro out of Philadelphia, the Phillies offered Kyle Kendrick, Shane Victorino, and two unknown prospects to the Orioles for Erik Bedard and were turned down.  It’s generally believed that the Phillies don’t have the young available talent Andy MacPhail seeks, but it never hurts to ask.

Erik Bedard Rumors: Wednesday

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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.

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