Monday, December 3, 2007

Mets looking to trade for O's Bedard

Over the weekend, the Orioles rejected the Mets' trade offer of outfield prospect Carlos Gomez, reliever Aaron Heilman and pitching prospect Philip Humber for Erik Bedard, according to the Baltimore Sun.

The Sun reports that Bedard has attracted a lot of attention in a trade market that also includes Johan Santana. But it remains unknown whether the Orioles will trade him and, according to a team source, several members of the organization remain opposed to parting with Bedard, who is two years away from free agency.

The Los Angeles Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners are among other teams that have expressed interest in the star lefty.The Yankees apparently view Bedard as a backup plan if they do not land Johan Santana, but its unlikely the Orioles would trade him within the division. One Orioles sportswriter suggested that Bedard could cost the Yankees Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Melky Cabrera.

The Orioles seem to prefer to retain their ace if a contract extension can be reached. However, with contract negotiations reportedly stalled, a trade is looking more and more likely. Orioles President Andy MacPhail told the Baltimore Sun last week that stalled contract talks won't "dramatically" affect the club's position on Bedard, and that talks could revive in the days ahead.

Bedard could be the solution to the Mets' starting pitching woes, but what would the price be? Apparently Bedard is not going to be cheap, and the Mets must be careful not to sell their whole future to land one player.

Posted by Alan Kelly  
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4 comments:

Mike Peters said...
Alan,

As our Orioles expert, do you think the O's would be willing to trade Bedard to the Mets for less than what the Red Sox or Yankees could put together in order to get him out of the AL East?

Certainly the Mets cannot match Joba, Hughes and Melky. Nor do I expect the Yanks to offer that.

Beyond Gomez, Heilman, Humber is tough for the Mets, especially with Milledge being traded away. I'm very much in favor of keeping either pelfrey or humber, so I don't think the Mets would throw in both of them. Would the O's prefer the younger Fernando Martinez instead of Gomez, or the Younger Joe Smith instead of Heilman, or will they have to part with either John Maine or Jose Reyes to get Bedard? I don't see them offering either.
12/3/07, 1:53 AM  

Alan Kelly said...
Mike,

I think Angels and Dodgers are the most likely destinations for Bedard, given what they can offer. It's unlikely the Orioles will trade within the division at any price given how they have gotten burned before.

I haven't heard John Maine mentioned at all, I think the O's organization STILL does not recognize how good he is. There was some concern about Heilman's age, so Smith might be more attractive. I think that one more player, maybe Church or Smith or another mid-level pitching prospect, could get it done.

The Mets could get outbid on this one, but then again, some of the other teams haven't made hard offers yet, and the Orioles may be anxious to get a deal done and stop waiting around. Both LA teams are going after Miguel Cabrera first, and Boston and the Yankees are still fighting over Santana.

The Orioles don't HAVE to trade Bedard this offseason, however, so if the right deal isn't there it might not happen at all. This thing could wait till the trade deadline and start all over again.

Another idea that was being tossed around in the blogosphere, without any real support, was a blockbuster deal where the Mets also get Tejada and the Orioles also get Reyes. I just don't see the Mets doing that one.
12/3/07, 10:12 AM  

Alan Kelly said...
The Orioles seem to be asking even more for Bedard than the Twins want for Santana: the O's want at least four young, big-time players. And apparently the Phillies are now looking at Bedard, too.
12/3/07, 10:54 AM  

Mike Peters said...
thats an interesting proposition, but I don't think the mets are too interested in tejada, although it's certainly more realistic than reyes for santana straight up. But we sort of like the idea of having reyes for relatively cheap for many years to come.
12/3/07, 2:30 PM  

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