HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source
Heraldnet.com
MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2010 3:13 am
LocalNorthwestNation & WorldPoliticsSpecial ReportsPhotosColumnistsMultimedia 
RECENT POSTS:
• Wak has a team meeting, Felix gets the message  March 20

• Pitching perils: Fister has X-rays; Lee returns for treatment  March 20

• Wakamatsu tired of umpires' "witch hunt" of Milton Bradley  March 19

• Cliff Lee has abdominal strain, undergoes tests in Seattle  March 19

• Nothing final, but M's keeping Lopez at third and Figgins at second  March 19
Archives:
RELATED ARTICLES:
• Questions surround Mariners’ starting rotation  March 22
• Mariners notes: Infield comes together  March 22
• FINISH LINE: Wish you were here  March 22
• Twins, Mauer agree on 8 year, $184 million extension  March 21
• Mariners pound Angels 12-6  March 21
• Twins’ closer Nathan to miss season with elbow injury  March 21
• M’s Kelley slows it down  March 20
• Mariners Notebook: Lopez, Figgins stay put  March 20
• Felix pitches 5 shutout innings, Mariners beat Diamondbacks 4-0  March 20
• White Sox’s Guillen says he asked his son to resign  March 20
 

ADVERTISEMENT
Mariners Blog
December 1, 2009

 
ADVERTISEMENT
 

Mariners offer arbitration to Beltre, not Bedard


Posted at 3:54 pm by By Kirby Arnold

To no surprise, the Mariners have offered salary arbitration to free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre but won't offer it to pitcher Erik Bedard.

Teams have until 9 p.m. today to offer arbitration to eligible free agents.

Because Beltre is a Type B free agent, the Mariners will receive a compensatory draft pick between the first and second rounds next June if he signs with another team. Of course, there's a chance Beltre will accept the offer, which would lock himself in with the Mariners for another year and, if he and the club can't reach an agreement, let an arbitrator award his 2010 salary.

The chances of that happening seem as likely as a month of sunny December days in Seattle. Beltre, represented by agent Scott Boras, seems certain to test a free agent market that will have teams interested in him. He has until Monday to make that decision.

The Mariners could still try to bring Beltre back, although it will be interesting to gauge his interest in returning to Seattle vs. the potential for playing with, say, the Red Sox, who are among teams mentioned as having interest. It's easy to assume he'd like taking his hacks at the Green Monster in Fenway Park, only 310 feet from the plate down the left-field line, vs. the 331 feet and heavy air at Safeco Field. However, Beltre is a career .179 hitter at Fenway (it's .252 at Safeco).

As for Bedard, the Mariners can still negotiate with him but aren't expected to offer him anything more than an incentive-filled one-year deal and see how it compares with what he could get elsewhere. The Orioles and Royals have both expressed interest in Bedard.

Bedard won't be ready to pitch until May at the earliest after having surgery last August to repair a torn labrum. It's an injury that some pitchers have never fully recovered from.

COMMENTS | Be the first to comment

Log in or register to post a new comment.


To read other terms and conditions, click here
  Return to Mariners Blog
Other Advertisers
TODAY'S TOP JOBS
 View All Top Jobs 
Top Cars
>> view all top cars
>> view all cars
Top Homes
>> view all top homes
>> view all homes

ADVERTISEMENT
|Contact Us |Advertiser Services |Home Delivery |Newsstand Locations |Classifieds |Feedback |About the Company |Work@the Herald |Site Map
© 2010 The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA.