Would Bedard Be The Missing Piece?

Time for your weekly trade rumor.

John McGrath of the News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., throws the Phillies out there as a potential suitor for Erik Bedard. Supposedly since the Mariners are already out of the playoff race, he says it could be wise to give up on their 29-year-old lefty starter. He is 4-4 with a 4.26 ERA in 61.1 innings.

Bedard was traded by the Orioles to the Mariners in the offseason. The Orioles collected a bounty that included outfielder Adam Jones and pitcher George Sherrill.

MLB Trade Rumors touched on the rumor and mentioned the Phillies could trade Carlos Carrasco or Adrian Cardenas. McGrath went deeper into the farm system:

“A package for Bedard could include Adrian Cardenas, 20, a left-handed-hitting infielder regarded as the Phillies’ top prospect. And Brad Harman, 22, called up to Philadelphia from Double-A this spring as a replacement for the injured Rollins. And Jason Donald, a former University of Arizona standout.

“Not sold? Then demand Michael Taylor, a 6-foot-6, 260-pound Stanford product fast enough to qualify as a base-stealing threat. Or 6-5, 200-pound Dominic Brown, a former high school wide receiver who turned down a scholarship from the Miami Hurricanes last year.”

Is a package of Cardenas, Brown and a pitcher good enough to make a MLB roster (Happ?) enough for Bedard? I would try not to get rid of Carrasco (McGrath mentioned nothing about him) or even Joe Savery. Cardenas is blocked only if Ryan Howard remains in Philadelphia, but the rub: To win this year, this team needs Ryan Howard. Cardenas isn’t Philly-pennant-ready until 2011.

If Bedard can be had at the right price, well, I’m still not sure. He has pitched great at Safeco, but away from there he’s miserable (24.1 IP, 1-2, 7.40 ERA). Safeco is generally regarded as a pitcher’s park; Citizens Bank? Surprisingly its park factor of 0.986 makes it a “pitcher’s park.” Still, Bedard isn’t a wildly sure thing to be successful. It’s possible he’ll fit nicely between Cole Hamels and Brett Myers as a No. 2 starter, but I’m just not sure.