By Tim Dierkes | at
Let’s round up some random links for today…
By Tim Dierkes | at
Erik Bedard staying put in Baltimore this winter? Maybe not. Ken Rosenthal and Jason Churchill both busted out brand new material this evening with the latest Bedard chatter. The upshot is that the Mariners seem to have a decent shot at him.
By Tim Dierkes | at
It seemed the Orioles had no interest in retaining Scott Boras client Corey Patterson. However, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles have renewed their interest in the 28 year-old center fielder.
My guess is that the Orioles backed off when Boras told them his initial demands for Patterson (three years, $24MM maybe?) But now Patterson is still hanging around and no teams seem to be actively pursuing him. Connolly mentions the Cardinals, Braves, Twins, and Pirates as possible fits, but admits they’re long shots. Patterson was born in Atlanta.
Patterson has a chance to be a mild bargain if he rediscovers his power stroke. He’s striking out less and less, which could mean an improvement in batting average. The offensive bar is pretty low for center field if you play good defense.
The Orioles are still entertaining possible trades that could bring them a center fielder and take them out of the mix for Patterson. They could get Adam Jones in an Erik Bedard trade, or a "Chicago Cubs outfield prospect" in a Brian Roberts deal. I doubt this would be Felix Pie.
By Tim Dierkes | at
John Perrotto had some new Pirates’ rumblings in yesterday morning’s column.
By Tim Dierkes | at
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.
By Tim Dierkes | at
So far this winter, we haven’t heard much about the Mariners getting involved for Joe Blanton. However, Buster Olney says today that "it appears they are in the thick of the trade bidding" for the 27 year-old righty. Blanton has a career ERA of 4.10 with a below-average K/9 of 5.24 and better-than-average BB/9 of 2.37.
Olney believes Adam Jones would be required for Seattle to acquire Blanton. Along with Jones, Carlos Gonzalez, Daric Barton, Kurt Suzuki, and Travis Buck could be the makings of a solid, cheap offensive core for Oakland. Olney believes the Mets and Reds could be other clubs eyeing Blanton.
The Mariners are still scrambling for two starters after missing out on Hiroki Kuroda. According to Larry Stone, they’re still after Erik Bedard. Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse might also become targets if the bigger names fall through.
By Tim Dierkes | at
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.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Rounding up some smaller rumors…
By Tim Dierkes | at
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.
By Tim Dierkes | at
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.
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