Pujolsfan91

BALTIMORE -- Left-hander Erik Bedard was acquired by the Seattle Mariners from the Baltimore Orioles on Friday in a long-delayed trade for five prospects.

Baltimore received outfielder Adam Jones, who will probably start in center field on Opening Day. The Orioles also obtained reliever George Sherrill and pitchers Chris Tillman, Tony Butler and Kam Mickolio.

Bedard, Baltimore's Opening Day starter last year, joins a rotation that includes newly signed Carlos Silva and holdovers Felix Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn and Miguel Batista.

The departure of Bedard is yet another move to youth by the Orioles under president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail. Shortstop Miguel Tejada, a former AL MVP, was traded to Houston on Dec. 12.

With Bedard gone, Baltimore does not have an ace or even someone that's a lock to pitch on Opening Day. Jeremy Guthrie and Adam Loewen are the top candidates, and Daniel Cabrera might be given consideration.

Baltimore had failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension with Bedard, who can become a free agent after the 2009 season. He went 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA last season and set a franchise record with 221 strikeouts. Opponents batted .212 against Bedard, including an AL-low .196 on the road.

Jones told a reporter in Venezuela on Jan. 27 he was headed to Baltimore to take a physical, signaling that a trade was in the works. But that physical did not occur until this week.

The 28-year-old Bedard ranked among the AL leaders in several pitching categories before a rib injury ended his season in late August. He was leading the league in strikeouts at the time and, although he finished third, his average of 10.93 strikeouts per nine innings was tops in the AL and an Orioles record.

Jones, 22, was Seattle's top pick in the 2003 amateur draft. He batted .246 in 41 games with the Mariners last season and hit .314 with 25 home runs and 84 RBIs for Triple-A Tacoma. He began his career in 2006 with an 0-for-12 drought that ended in Baltimore on July 18, when he got his first major-league hit.

Sherrill went 2-0 with a 2.36 ERA and three saves in seven opportunities in 2007. He will probably be given a look as the closer for Chris Ray, expected to miss the season after elbow ligament replacement surgery on Aug. 16.

Tillman, 19, was Seattle's minor-league pitcher of the year in 2007. Neither Tillman, Butler or Mickolio were on the Mariners' 0-man roster.

ESPN - Orioles trade Bedard to Mariners for five prospects - MLB

Lots of big names traded so far this year

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Sig from a diff site.

Rasmus future CF of the Cards!!

Killswitch

It was a great deal for both sides. The Mariners now have a strong rotation and a very good pen. They have always been able to hit, and need to win now if they want to use Ichiro in the post season. The Orioles got much needed prospects as they are really rebuilding.

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captain54

thank god bedard is out of the American league east,diehard NY fan

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sa1177

This should put the Mariners on the fringes of making the playoffs in the AL. Although I still don't see them really competing with NY, Boston, Detroit and Anaheim.

DodgerBlue32

This was an incredible trade for the Mariners, in my opinion. I was all but praying that the Dodgers would swing something for Bedard...

My bias notwithstanding, I cannot help but think that this makes the Mariners the team to beat in the AL West. Offensively they compare quite favorably to the Angels - the Angels only outscored the Mariners by twenty-six runs last season with the Mariners having an injured and unproductive Richie Sexson and an inexplicably unproductive Jose Lopez. If they rebound I see the offenses being close again.

The pitching, in my opinion, is also very close. Bedard and Hernandez are very, very good and, in all likelihood, on the same level as John Lackey. The Angels may actually have more question marks in their rotation beyond Lackey and Escobar then do the Mariners behind the aforementioned duo. The bullpens are also close. However, K-Rod was very mortal in the second half of last season (as he has been in spurts in the second half of most every season). I prefer Putz to K-Rod.

Overall, both teams are still close. However, I'd rather see the Dodgers line-up face Lackey and Escobar in a best-of-seven series.

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