As the Rumor Mill Turns..

Erik Bedard

There are officially 17 days until pitchers and catchers report, and the rumors are beginning to catch fire once again. All signs point to an imminent deal between the Orioles and Mariners, sending stud pitcher Erik Bedard to Seattle in exchange for OF Adam Jones, RP George Sherrill and two top Seattle prospects.

The deal would give the Mariners 2 potentially dominant starting pitchers in Felix Hernandez and Bedard, to compliment lights-out closer J.J. Putz. The M's offense is strong behind Japanese stars Ichiro and Kenji Johjima and vets Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson, but with Jones heading to Baltimore and Jose Guillen signing with Kansas City, the outfield has taken a big hit this season. Still, a lineup featuring something like Ichiro-Vidro-Ibanez-Beltre-Sexson-Johjima, with Jeremy Reed, Jose Lopez and Willie Bloomquist at the bottom of the order is still a strong top to bottom lineup. The Mariners play a big role in the AL West race, as they showed significant potential after their 2007 run.

On the flip side, this trade sets the Orioles further and further back in returning to respectability. With young players maturing in Tampa, the Orioles may need to make themselves comfortable in the AL East basement. A perennial power in the '90s, Peter Angelos has run this team straight into the ground, and as the Yankees and Red Sox continue to get stronger, the Orioles may not see the players for many years.


Johan Santana

This has to be one of the most talked about, debated, blogged, and written about trade in MLB history. Articles seem to surface on this story daily, incredible since there hasn't been any real news here since the winter meetings. The latest 'story' has the Mets as the new front-runner. According to multiple 'sources' , the Yankees have taken Phil Hughes off the table, and the BoSox have done the same with Jon Lester. Suddenly, a package of all the Mets top prospects is much more attractive to the Twins. The deal rumored to be on the table is 18 year old pitching prospect Deolis Guerra, SP Phil Humber, SP Kevin Mulvey and OF Carlos Gomez. The sticking point is reportedly 18-year old phenom OF Fernando Martinez, who the Mets are currently refusing to add.

I find it so hard to comment on this, because no one really knows what's really happening. Some seem to think the Twins are just keeping the Mets in it to keep the Yankees interested, and in turn, the Red Sox. It appears now that the Twins would pull the trigger on a Phil Hughes trade without insisting on the addition of Ian Kennedy. The price has dropped for Santana since December (or so it appears), but apparently not low enough to accept a package of prospects from the Mets. As a Met fan, I say throw the lot of young talent at Minnesota, because a pitcher like this comes along once a decade. It is near impossible to acquire an ace of Santana's statute in this day and age, and the Mets have the money to sign him long-term, and no player who has yet to make a major league contribution should hold up this deal.

If a deal is to happen, it will likely happen in the next week or so, as the team will want to prepare for spring training. I'm on the edge of my seat, I just don't know how much more I can read.

The Rest of Baseball

Incredibly, this entire off-season centered around three players, none of which were free agents. Danny Haren, Bedard and Santana have been the story, and only Haren was actually moved. Despite some big names still on the free-agent market (Livan Hernandez, Kenny Lofton, Bartolo Colon, some guy named Bonds), no one seems to care. This has been of the most boring off seasons in recent memory, as the trend is toward locking up young players for many years, even if it means buying out some arbitration years. Any winter where the biggest signing for a team from New York is Matt Wise, well....it's a good thing the Giants are in the Super Bowl. Go Big Blue!

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