Friday, November 30, 2007

Erik Bedard or Dan Haren?

The Orioles are having trouble negotiating an extension for Erik Bedard. Their's a few teams that have asked about him and the Yankees are one of them.

Their`s another report about the Yankees and Dan Haren to. This time its by Jon Heyman.

Both would cost less than Santana obviously and are worse but which one would you rather have?

Bedard set a franchise record for K's for the Orioles last year with 221 and really became a great pitcher. His 3.16 ERA last year was also excellent. His K/BB was 3.88 and he backed that up with a solid 47.9% GB%. This was a career year for him but he`s improved every year and is still below 30. He`s also left-handed which is an advantage at Yankees Stadium. He`s a free agent after the season and the Orioles won't be in competition for a while so he could be un-willing to resign with the Orioles. Instead of letting him go as a free agent it makes sense for the Orioles to trade him. He`d be the left-handed ace the Yankees lack and they could probably get away without giving up much. If their current offer for Santana is Kennedy, Melky, and another prospect then Bedard might be able to be had for Kennedy, Horne, and Gardner.

Haren is also coming of a career year and is about the same age. He had a 3.49 K/BB last year and a 44.4% GB%. He didn't SO nearly as much as Bedard either with 192. However, he has more of a track record than Bedard. He`s not a free agent for another few years and he`s cheap so Billy Beane will make any team that tries to trade for him pay a lot. He`ll cost more to get than Bedard in terms of talent but will be a lot cheaper in terms of money. Billy Beane is a smart GM and will make any other team pay. It could cost something like Kennedy, Jackson, and Horne.

So who's the better option? I think both are better options than Santana because of what it will take to get Santana. I think I`d prefer Bedard but its a tough choice.

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