The second major lefthanded ace changed hands last week as Erik Bedard was traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the Seattle Mariners in exchange a reliever and four prospects as the Orioles work on rebuilding.

The Associated Press report for ESPN notes;

A four-year veteran, Bedard was 28-16 with a 3.47 ERA over the last two seasons. Now, he is primed to earn at least $6 million in an arbitration hearing scheduled in the coming days. He could get tens of millions more in a multiyear contract Seattle has already started to discuss with Bedard’s representatives. He is under Seattle’s control for at least the next two seasons.

He said the Orioles never made a true effort to sign him to a long-term contract; MacPhail said Bedard never wanted to stay.

The addition of Bedard, 13-5, 3.16 ERA last season, along with righthanders Miguel Batista 16-11, 4.29 ERA and Felix Hernandez 14-7, 3.92 ERA and Carlos Silva 13-14, 4.19 ERA and fifth starter lefthander  Jarrod Washburn gives the Mariners one of the more formidable starting rotations in the entire AL.

Meanwhile the New York Yankees dodged arbitration by making a $30 million, 4-year deal with their 3rd year 2nd baseman Robinson Cano who hit 19 homers while driving in 97 runs, scoring 93 and hitting .306 in 160 games last season.  Cano, an All Star and runner-up for rookie of the year in 2006, also clubbed 41 doubles in 2007.

The AP report on the Cano deal for Yahoo sports discloses;

The deal is potentially worth $57 million over six seasons. The 25-year-old Cano will get $3 million this season, $6 million next year, $9 million in 2010 and $10 million in 2011. New York has a $14 million option for 2012 with a $2 million buyout. If that option is exercised, the Yankees would have a $15 million option for 2013 with a $2 million buyout.

The Colorado Rockies similarly dodged arbitration twice in signing both 3rd baseman Garrett Atkins and rightfielder Brad Hawpe.

Both players agreed to one year deals; Atkins’ is worth $4.38 million while Hawpe’s contract is worth $4.74 million.

Ticker’s report for Yahoo sports notes;

Atkins overcame a slow start last season to bat .301 with 25 home runs and 111 RBI, numbers that represented a slight regression from his breakout 2006 season - when he hit .329 with 29 homers and 120 RBI.

The 6-3 Atkins also struggled during the 2007 postseason for the reigning National League champion Rockies, batting just .175 (7-for-40) with one homer and three RBI in 11 games.

Atkins, 28, is a career .302 hitter with 68 homers and 332 RBI in parts of five seasons - all with the Rockies.

Hawpe, 28, exploded onto the scene in 2007, batting .291 and setting career highs with 29 homers and 116 RBI. Hawpe is a career .282 hitter with 63 home runs and 256 RBI in four seasons with Colorado.   

However, the Phillies and powerful 1st baseman Ryan Howard are still mired with a $3 million gap in their positions as Howard’s arbitration date of February 20 draws ever closer.  Howard seeks at least a 1 year deal for $10 million while the Phils hold stubbornly to the $7 million figure.  In a long-term deal, Howard seeks substantially more than 2nd baseman Chase Utley’s seven-year, $85-million contract and, according to people knowledge in the situation, he would be looking for salaries in the $20 million range in the final years of the deal.

It’s very possible that the arbitration process could get nasty and that the Phils risk alienating Howard, their chief power source, as Spring Training gets under way and on the eve of a concerted drive to repeat in the NL East and to advance to the World Series.  It is unfortunate that the Phillies appear to be taking a detached position in the matter — “It’s just business.”

Howard has pounded 129 homers, driven in 353 runs and carries a cumulative .291 BA through 3 seasons.  But on the negative side, the lefthanded slugger has struck out 493 times or in nearly 1/3 of his plate appearances.  The strike outs are something that Howard has to work hard on to severely curtail.

It would be best if the two sides came to a mutually beneficial long-term deal before the arbitration clock hits 12.

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 8:15 pm and is filed under Real-Time Baseball News and Commentary, Off-Season Deals, Trades, Free Agency, Draft, Off-Season Action, Phillies Deals, Phillies and NL East, Analysis, Predictions, etc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.