The Seattle Mariners were primed to trade away five players in exchange for Baltimore Orioles pitcher Erik Bedard. But now there are questions about whether the deal will happen as originally structured — if it happens at all.
Reports out of Baltimore say the Orioles are upset that Mariners outfielder Adam Jones spilled news of the trade over the weekend in a newspaper interview in Venezuela, where he was playing winter ball.
Jones said he was being traded to the Orioles and that he was traveling to Baltimore for a physical exam. The Mariners would not comment, other than to confirm that Jones had been told to leave the Lara team in Venezuela and return to the United States.
Besides Jones, the Mariners’ trade package was believed to consist of left-handed relief pitcher George Sherrill, right-handed minor league pitchers Chris Tillman and Kam Mickolio, and left-handed minor leaguer Tony Butler.
With such a package, general manager Bill Bavasi would avoid clearing out all the best prospects from the Mariners’ minor league system. It also would allow the M’s to keep right-handed pitcher Brandon Morrow, catching prospect Jeff Clement and infield prospect Carlos Truinfel — three of their best young players who’ve all been mentioned in early speculation about the trade.
Now there’s speculation that the Orioles may ask for an upgrade of the Mariners’ offer or they will call off the deal, according to a report late Monday on Foxsports.com.
A Baltimore Sun report Monday night said the trade is at a standstill.
Orioles owner Peter Angelos has been known to squash trades and signings that have been put together. Among them was the signing in 2000 of pitcher Aaron Sele, who the Mariners grabbed after the Orioles backed out.
If the trade goes through in its latest form, it still could take time to complete because the players involved still would need to undergo physical exams. Sherrill said Monday that nobody has talked with him about it except reporters.
“I haven’t heard anything,” he said. “The only thing I know is what I’ve read.”
In addition to their efforts to obtain Bedard, the Mariners appear to have a deal in place to replace Jones, who was scheduled to be their opening-day right fielder, if a trade takes place.
Among free agents available, former Texas Ranger Brad Wilkerson has drawn the most interest from the Mariners.
Wilkerson is a left-handed hitter with power, an inviting combination at Safeco Field, where the ball carries well to right field. Wilkerson, 30, hit 20 home runs and drove in 69 runs in 338 at-bats last year with the Rangers. He’s a career .250 hitter who has struck out 147 or more times in four of his seven major league seasons, and fanned 107 times last year.
Sherrill’s name has been linked to the trade since speculation surfaced. He pitched his best season last year, going 2-0 with a 2.36 ERA in 452/3 innings as the Mariners’ left-handed relief specialist.
Tillman went 6-7, 5.26 in 20 starts for the high-Class A High Desert Mavericks after being promoted from the low-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, where he was 1-4, 3.55 in eight starts.
Mickolio, who stands 6 feet 9 inches, was 3-1, 1.82 with two saves in 18 relief appearances for the Class AA West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx.
Butler was 4-7, 4.75 with one complete game in 18 starts for Wisconsin.
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