Adam Jones says the deal is all but done, that the Seattle Mariners have traded him to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for left-handed pitcher Erik Bedard.
The Orioles were saying otherwise Sunday night.
“We do not have an agreement with the Mariners,” Andy MacPhail, the Orioles’ president of baseball operations, told the Baltimore Sun.
However, Jones told a reporter in Venezuela that Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi called him Saturday notifying him of the trade, and there were other indications that only details remained to complete the deal.
Reports said the Mariners will send Jones, minor league pitcher Chris Tillman, major league relief pitcher George Sherrill and one more minor leaguer to the Orioles in exchange for Bedard.
The trade for Bedard is not expected to be announced soon due to the wait for results of physical examinations of the players involved.
MacPhail denied one report Sunday night that said Jones was traveling from Venezuela to Baltimore for a physical exam. The Mariners said only that Jones was returning to the United States.
“We did ask Jones to come back from Venezuela,” said Tim Hevly, the team’s director of baseball information.
Bedard, 13-6 with a 3.16 earned run average last year, would become the No. 1 starter the Mariners have sought this offseason. He would join a rotation that includes right-handers Felix Hernandez, Miguel Batista and Carlos Silva, and left-hander Jarrod Washburn.
The trade also would push hard-throwing right-hander Brandon Morrow back to a late-inning relief role, where he was impressive much of last season as a rookie. Morrow, who Bavasi said he wouldn’t trade despite reports that the Orioles wanted him, would have been considered as the fifth starter if the Mariners didn’t make a trade.
Bedard, who’ll be 29 on opening day, has a 40-34 career record and a 3.83 ERA in 114 major league games, 111 of them starts for the Orioles the past four years. He pitched a career-best 1932/3 innings in 2006, then 182 innings last year before an oblique injury ended his season.
Jones, the Mariners’ starter in right field barring a trade, told a reporter from the Diario Panorama newspaper in Venezuela that he learned about the Bedard deal from Bavasi on Saturday.
“He told me I’ve got to go to Baltimore and handle things there,” Jones said. “I’m the centerpiece of the deal on the Mariners’ side. It’s an honor to get traded for such a highly talented pitcher as Bedard. He’s one of the best. Last year, he finished up as arguably one of the top candidates for the Cy Young.”
Jones, the Mariners’ first-round draft choice in 2003, came up as a shortstop but was converted to center field during the winter before the 2006 season. He batted .314 with 25 home runs and 84 runs batted in last year in 101 games with the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers. Jones batted .246 with two home runs and four RBI in 65 major league at-bats last year.
If the Mariners lose Jones, they’ll need to replace him via trade, free agent signing or from within. Among outfielders in their minor league system, the closest to being ready for the major leagues is Wladimir Balentien. Bavasi said in December that Balentien needs more time in the minor leagues.
The list of unsigned free agent outfielders includes Bobby Kielty, Corey Patterson, Trot Nixon, Scott Podsednik, Reggie Sanders and Shannon Stewart. The Mariners are known to have talked internally about Brad Wilkerson, a free agent first baseman/outfielder who played for the Texas Rangers, as a replacement for Jones if he’s traded.
If Sherrill is dealt, the Mariners will lose an effective left-handed relief specialist. They would have several in-house options for that job, including Ryan-Rowland Smith, Eric O’Flaherty, Ryan Feierabend and Cesar Jimenez.
Sherrill said Sunday night that he hadn’t been told of a trade.
“I have not heard from Bill (Bavasi) or anyone,” he said by phone from his home in Salt Lake City, where he’s preparing to leave this week and continue his offseason workouts in Peoria, Ariz., where the Mariners hold spring training. “I hope I hear something by Wednesday morning because that’s when I’m leaving for Peoria. Otherwise I’ll be going to Florida.”
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