Bedard to the Phillies?

New rumor that I hadn't heard before coming from Jason Stark today. In his winter meeting notes he suggests that the Phillies have interest in the Orioles young ace Erik Bedard. For those unfamiliar with Bedard, he is a poor man's Santana with 15 and 13 wins the past 2 seasons, an average of about 200 Ks and 3.76 and 3.16 ERAs. All very gaudy numbers, especially for an American League pitcher who has to face the Yankees and Red Sox frequently. Let's put it another way, getting this guy makes Cole Hamels our #2. And the best part is that Bedard is team controlled through 2009, so no $20+M per year like Santana will cost.

The report claims that the Orioles want more than the price of Santana, and who can blame them, Bedard does represent a better deal for the acquiring team. While the Phillies probably don't have much of a chance at landing him, what would it take from the Phillies to make the Orioles think?

Let's start our own rumor...Victorino, Kendrick, Jason Jaramillo and Carlos Carrasco for Erik Bedard. The Orioles would definitely have to think about that one. Victorino is a Carl Crawford type player, Kendrick's value may never be higher, Jaramillo projects to a starting catcher in a year and Carrasco is one of the Phillies top pitching prospects. That's the sort of deal the Orioles are looking for. Is it a good deal for the Phillies? Short term it could be, but long-term that's a lot of talent to give up and pretty much strips the farm system bare, but if the team is looking to get a top tier rotation right away, this would probably get the job done.