Done Deal: Baltimore Orioles Send Erik Bedard to Seattle Mariners

Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reports that the groundwork of the deal has been laid, and the only thing keeping the deal from being announced are physicals that need to be taken.

The proposed deal is reported to involve five players from Seattle—Adam Jones, George Sherrill, and three other minor league pitchers.

According to Roch Kubatko of the Baltimore Sun, Bedard is expected to take, and pass, his physical today.

I'm guessing that the baseball world won't leap in shock when this deal is announced, as it has been dragging on for a long time.

This deal will solidify the already strong Mariner starting rotation, while weakening them at both left field and relief pitching.

The loss of young outfielder Adam Jones is probably the biggest hit that Seattle will take, but they needed to give up somebody good in order to land an ace like Bedard. 

Likewise, pitcher George Sherrill, who had an excellent 2007 season, will be another huge loss for the Mariners. Sherrill played in 73 games last year, with a 2.36 ERA.

The Orioles, however, will clear some cap space with the loss of Bedard. That could be a sign that Baltimore will be aggressive in free agency this offseason. They could consider pursuing big names such as Bartolo Colon, Josh Fogg, or Jared Weaver.

Overall, I think the Orioles will win in this trade. Not only do they gain a great, young outfielder in Jones and a great relief pitcher in Sherrill, they also acquire money in order to be active in the remainder of this offseason.