Done Deal, Bedard to Seattle:

[mofome]

http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/mariners/

January 27, 2008 3:57 PM

Bedard-Jones deal going down
Posted by Geoff Baker

Adam Jones has left his Venezuelan Winter League team and flies to Baltimore tomorrow morning to take a physical so he can be dealt to the Orioles in exchange for pitcher Erik Berdard. No word yet on how many players going Baltimore's way.

Jones did not mince words when he spoke to a reporter from Diario Panorama in Venezuela today. We have a relationship with the reporter and paper and they have graciously supplied us with quotes from the interview with Jones.

"I received a call from Seattle saying that is no more playing for me and I can't do anything about that,'' Jones said. "I leave tomorrow morning...It sucks. I want to play. This is Game 4 of the finals and I really want to be there for my team, but it's something that all the guys understand. I really want to play, but I can't."

On the actual deal itself: "(Bill Bavasi) called me yesterday and told me the news. I’ve got to go to Baltimore tomorrow morning and handle things there. I'm the centerpiece of the deal on the Mariners side. It's an honor to get traded for such a highly talented pitcher as Bedard is. He’s one of the best. Last year he finished up as an arguably one of the top candidates for the Cy Young. He’s that good, so for me it’s an honor. You know, I like Seattle, but if I am in Baltimore, as I think now I am, I’m going to embrace it and have the best time of my life in Major League Baseball.''

I spoke to relief pitcher George Sherrill moments ago, and he insisted he had not heard from anyone that he had been included in a deal.

Sherrill took a routine exit physical after the season was over and recently had his contract extended by the Mariners without taking another one.

"I hope if I am part of it that somebody tells me before Wednesday because that's when we're supposed to head down to Phoenix,'' Sherrill said of his departure for spring training. "I spoke to John (McLaren) recently and I let him know that I want to be a Mariner for life. It's the team that plucked me out of the independent league and so I'll always have a spot in my heart for it and want to stay with the organization. But I know that rarely happens anymore."


That's all for now. We'll get you more details as they unfold. But I wanted to get this out to you ASAP. I'd expect a news conference of some sort by Tuesday, given the timetable of the Jones physical.

[JBC77]

If Bedard can pull out another year like last......should help the M's a bunch. They could make a run with arms they have.

[mofome]

If Bedard can pull out another year like last......should help the M's a bunch. They could make a run with arms they have.

Huge news in baseball if this is completed. It sounds like the Ms held firm with what they were willing to offer and the Os gave in eventually. bedard will allow king felix to move to #2 in the rotation, this makes seattle a big time contender.

[mofome]

Adam Jones is flying to Baltimore for a physical on Monday, suggesting the Orioles and Mariners have agreed to an Erik Bedard trade.
Jones said he's been told the deal is done, though he doesn't know who is going with him to Baltimore. Asked by the Seattle Times tonight, George Sherrill said he had heard nothing to suggest he's being included. Top prospects Chris Tillman, Jeff Clement, Carlos Triunfel and Wladimir Balentien are among the players whose names have come up in rumors. Jan. 27 - 7:27 pm et
Source: Seattle Times

rotoworld.


reports on sbr before they got the story, but at least the finally got the scoop.

[mofome]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032825/

[mofome]

Roch Around the Clock
By Sun sports reporter Roch Kubatko



Still waiting...

I would love to file an entry confirming the Erik Bedard trade to Seattle and releasing the names of the prospects that Orioles president Andy MacPhail acquired in return for the left-hander.

Just one problem: Nobody on the Orioles' side is confirming that a deal is done.

All we have so far is Adam Jones telling reporters in Venezuela that the Mariners told him that a trade was completed and he should fly to Baltimore. Pretty strong stuff. But the media here needs someone from the warehouse to provide confirmation, and it's not happening.

Jones and pitchers George Sherrill and Chris Tillman are rumored to be involved in the deal, but Sherrill told the Seattle Times' Geoff Baker that he hasn't heard a word about being traded. You'd think that he'd know, if Jones already has been given the news.

More to come, I'm sure.

[mofome]

MacPhail denies what adam jones has reported?

MacPhail denies reported Bedard trade
'We do not have an agreement with the Mariners,' he says

By Jeff Zrebiec | Sun reporter
9:33 PM EST, January 27, 2008



Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said tonight that the club has not agreed to trade ace pitcher Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners for a package headed by young center fielder Adam Jones, despite reports that a deal is done.

"We do not have an agreement with the Mariners," MacPhail said.

The speculation started after Jones was ordered by the Mariners to stop playing for his Venezuelan winter league team in the playoffs. The 22-year-old told a reporter in Venezuela that he was headed to Baltimore to get a physical because he was traded to the Orioles in a Bedard deal.


"GM [Bill Bavasi] called me yesterday and told me the news. I've got to go to Baltimore tomorrow morning and handle things there," Jones told a reporter from Diario Panorama in Venezuela. "I'm the centerpiece of the deal on the Mariners side. It's an honor to get traded for such a highly talented pitcher as Bedard is. He's one of the best. Last year, he finished up as an arguably one of the top candidates for the Cy Young. He's that good, so for me it's an honor. You know, I like Seattle, but if I am in Baltimore, as I think now I am, I'm going to embrace it and have the best time of my life in Major League Baseball."

MacPhail said Jones is not coming to Baltimore for a physical.

[mofome]

UPDATE, 1-27-08 at 8:45pm: A high-ranking Orioles official told the Baltimore Sun that a trade has not been completed. Meanwhile MLB.com's Jim Street believes the Ms will send Jones, Sherrill, Chris Tillman, and a minor leaguer for Bedard.

FROM 1-27-08 at 7:49pm:

According to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, Adam Jones is headed to Baltimore in an Erik Bedard trade. Jones was pulled from the Lara Cardinals' lineup today in Venezuela. Cardinals manager Luis Sojo confirmed he went to Baltimore for a physical.

Baker got in touch with reliever George Sherrill, who has not been informed of any involvement in a trade. When we hear about the other players involved we'll post it here.

from mlbtraderumors


so much news.

[mofome]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3218093

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Mariners have asked talented young outfielder Adam Jones to leave his Venezuelan Winter League team and return to the United States amid reports he's about to be included in a trade for Baltimore Orioles left-hander Erik Bedard.



Mariners spokesman Tim Hevly confirmed Sunday night the team had requested the return of Jones, who has been expected to be Seattle's starting right fielder when the season begins.

"We did ask Adam to come back from Venezuela," Hevly said, declining to give a reason for the request.

Meanwhile, both Jones and Mariners relief pitcher George Sherrill have informed teammates that they are scheduled to take physicals in conjunction with the trade, a baseball source told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.

Jones, Sherrill, minor league pitcher Chris Tillman and a fourth undisclosed prospect are believed to make up the package of players the Orioles desire in return for the 28-year-old Bedard, who was 13-5 last season with a 3.16 ERA and 221 strikeouts, third in the AL, for a 93-loss team.

Tillman, who turns 20 in April, was Seattle's second-round pick in the 2006 draft. Baseball America ranks him as the organization's No. 3 prospect.

Hevly's statement followed Sunday's Seattle Times report that Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi was making Jones the centerpiece of a deal for Bedard. The Times, citing comments obtained from a Venezuelan newspaper, reported that Jones said he'd discussed the deal with Bavasi.

"I feel comfortable in Seattle," Jones told Ignacio Serrano of ESPNdeportes.com on Sunday, "but I will assume my trade to Baltimore as another challenge. I'm in the best moment of my life, although it will be strange to start with a new organization again. I will do it in spring training. Ultimately, I will be playing baseball, as always."

Saying he felt bad to leave his Venezuelan teammates early, Jones added: "I wanted to play today [Sunday] before traveling, but they wouldn't let me. I hope this means that Baltimore is going to give me the opportunity to play in the majors."

Despite Adams' comments, Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail denies that a deal is in place.

"We do not have an agreement with the Mariners," MacPhail said on Sunday, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Last week, Bavasi said his team, a surprise contender last summer until a weak starting rotation finally collapsed in September, expects to have a newly acquired Opening Day starter on March 31 against Texas.

"We are at the point now where we have to try to make these moves to get that top-of-the-rotation guy, to slot the rest of the rotation," Bavasi said Thursday. "We feel we have to make one more move."

Baseball's tampering rules prohibit open courting of players on other teams, and Bavasi wouldn't name Bedard last week.

But baseball officials with knowledge of Seattle's winter efforts have been confirming for weeks that the Mariners have been pursuing the Orioles' left-hander. Those officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of baseball's tampering rules.

Bedard is also cheap. He is currently scheduled for an arbitration hearing next month, with Bedard asking for $8 million per season and Baltimore countering with $6 million.

Jones, who will turn 23 this summer, played in 41 games last year and hit .246, getting limited action in the outfield as Seattle played mostly its veterans into September as it tried to keep pace in the playoff chase.

[Art Vandeleigh]

I'm sure Bedard will appreciate not having to face the Sox and Yanks so many times in a season.

[mofome]

uh oh

Orioles owner Peter Angelos hasn't yet signed off on the proposed deal that would send Erik Bedard to Seattle, according to a source familiar with the Orioles' internal discussions.

Erik Bedard

Bedard

The same source also indicated that Angelos wasn't informed of the particulars of this latest proposal until late Sunday and that he won't be available Monday to confer with the Orioles' baseball officials because of a personal matter.

Given Angelos' long history of vetoing trades, one baseball man who has dealt extensively with Angelos predicted that "this could get more interesting as it goes along" if Angelos has yet to approve this deal.

Indications are that the trade is still likely to happen, given the abrupt departure of its centerpiece, Mariners outfielder Adam Jones, from winter ball. But the source confirmed a Baltimore Sun report that Jones isn't currently scheduled to fly to Baltimore for a physical.

Both Jones and Mariners relief pitcher George Sherrill have informed teammates that they have been asked to take physicals in conjunction with the trade, a baseball source told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. It is not known when those physicals will take place.

Jones, Sherrill, minor league pitcher Chris Tillman and a fourth undisclosed prospect are believed to make up the package of players the Orioles desire in return for the 28-year-old Bedard, who was 13-5 last season with a 3.16 ERA and 221 strikeouts, third in the AL, for a 93-loss team.

Tillman, who turns 20 in April, was Seattle's second-round pick in the 2006 draft. Baseball America ranks him as the organization's No. 3 prospect.

Bedard's agent, Mark Pieper, didn't immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Jerry Crasnick covers Major League Baseball for ESPN Insider.

[mofome]

one seattle report has morrow in the deal. mofome would need some time alone if that is true.

[mofome]

finally, now its done.

5 for 1 deal.

roberts to the cubs likely next.

[Willie Bee]

What are the lastest rumors on what would be coming back for Roberts, mo?

[pico]

hell yeah!

king felix, bedard. and ichiro. i am making booking my world series trip now.

[mofome]

What are the lastest rumors on what would be coming back for Roberts, mo?

Sean Gallagher and outfielder Felix Pie or veterans such as RHP Jason Marquis and outfielder Matt Murton are the guys mentioned. i think they may have gotten sherrill so that they could move him, but im not certain. i don't see why the Os would want a 30 year old middle relief pitcher unless they were going to package him and move him. Roberts/sherrill for pie/Gallagher?

[mofome]

hell yeah!

king felix, bedard. and ichiro. i am making booking my world series trip now.

best 1-2 in the bigs next year.

[Willie Bee]

I hate seeing Bedard and Roberts go, but man, oh man, an outfield trio of Markakis, Pie and Jones is going to be very studly if that's how it all plays out eventually.

My Mariners futures (to win AL) got a little sweeter today.

[mofome]

I hate seeing Bedard and Roberts go, but man, oh man, an outfield trio of Markakis, Pie and Jones is going to be very studly if that's how it all plays out eventually.

My Mariners futures (to win AL) got a little sweeter today.

yeah but what would we do with Scott? i know they like his bat a lot and they plan on making him the full time LF. Nick, Jones and Pie could be amazing down the line. Jones used to be a SS, maybe we'd give him a look there? that would be hard to imagine.

[Willie Bee]

Scott could still get some licks in against righties, starting at least twice a week. I like Luke, Houston made a great deal to get him and Willy Taveras from Cleveland a few years back, then screwed the proverbial pooch and squadered Taveras in the ill-fated Jason Jennings trade before last season. Other teams would salivate at a shot at Pie, could see the O's eventually moving him before I think we'd see Jones moved to infield.

[MadCapper]

best 1-2 in the bigs next year.

if felix stays healthy!

[mofome]

if felix stays healthy!

same for erik. its amazing how young felix still is. this should be a fun team to watch. no one would want to face bedard/felix when october comes around.