Erik Bedard: Keep or Trade?

Now that the M’s are back to only one game under .500 and only 5.5 games out of first place in the AL West, the pressure on Jack Z to sign or deal Bedard is at an all-time high.

Fans seem to be in one of two camps: either trade the lefty to the highest bidder or lock him up to a long term deal. Bedard is like Two-Face in Batman—there are two different sides to him. You either love or hate the guy.

The Seattle Times ran an article a few days back about Bedard stating that he really does want to play for the M’s long-term, saying, “I love Seattle. I can’t complain– the city, the fans, the stadium, all of the new coaches we got, the players. It’s a lot of fun. I love it here.”

Is this posturing by Bedard or truly genuine? The same article also mentioned how Bedard and Jay Buhner have formed a friendship over fishing and Bedard typically fishes at Buhner’s house in Issaquah a few times a week when the M’s are in town. Should this make any difference to the M’s?

No, but it is worth examining further.

Bedard, never one for the limelight or big city, may actually like it in Seattle and may even be pitching better to stay here. Or in an effort to make a crap load of money elsewhere. Who knows? Let's look at what you get from the Candadian lefty.

Here are the positives:

-Bedard owns the sickest left-handed hook in baseball. Period.

-He is also 5-2 with a miniscule earned run average of only 2.47 (This is the American League people!!) His win/losses would be even better if not for the anemic M’s offense.

-Having an all-star season—should have more wins to show for it.

-In 65 innings of work, Bedard has only allowed 54 hits and has struck out a whopping 65.

-Left-handers are only hitting .203 against the dominant south-paw.

-He has allowed no more than 3 runs in any of his 11 starts.

Here are the negatives:

-Has only gone more than 7 innings in two starts.

-Highly injury prone—weak back and hip.

-Tendency to leave games early after hitting self-imposed “100 pitch limit.”

-Will never live up to magnitude of the Adam Jones trade

-Poor attitude (reminds me of Grumpy Smurf: I hate baseball)

While Bedard is truly pitching like the ace we all expected in the trade last season with the Dirty Birds, he is also the hottest commodity on the trade market. The Phillies obviously need another horse in the rotation and Bedard could be their man. Jack Z would be silly not to demand the farm in any trade for the south-paw and should explore all avenues.

If the M’s decide to lock him up long term, they would have a dominant 1-2 punch for the next three to five years. With any additional offense in future Jack Z trades, King and Bedard just might be the most feared 1-2 punch in baseball. These two arms in the starting rotation can win playoff series by themselves. With ANY offense, these two could win 20 games apiece. Easily.

In the end, I tend to bounce back and forth on what to do with Bedard. One minute I hate him, the next I stand up and yell when I watch that 12-6 hook absolutely freeze left handed hitters.

I’m putting my faith in Jack Z on this one to do the right thing whatever that is…

What does everyone else think?

Keep or Trade?