Boston Red Sox acquire Erik Bedard from Seattle Mariners – MLB News
The Boston Red Sox finally added depth to their pitching line-up getting Erik Bedard from the Seattle Marines in a three-team trade.
After the deal negotiation with the Oakland Athletics’ Rich Harden ended, the Red Sox get the oft-injured left-hander to create some relief to their pitching camp on July 31. On trade deadline, the Red Sox also acquired 2-year-veteran Josh Fields, who was
picked in 2008 first-round draft by Seattle.
"All starting pitchers in the big leagues have nicks and knacks on them," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. “Erik's case, he has injuries in his past like most starting pitchers, but the first half he was throwing the ball well and he certainly
looks to be on his way back to form."
Bedard will be looking to put in a decent effort for the Red Sox straight away as the team has lost Clay Buchholz for the rest of the season.
“I know that general manager Theo Epstein talked to him and he sounded like he was excited. We’ll kind of build him back up,” Francona said.
Catcher Tim Federowicz and right-handers Stephen Fife and Juan Rodriguez were traded by Boston to the Los Angeles Dodgers for outfielder Trayvon Robinson in the first phase of the trade. Following this, they handed Robinson to the Seattle Mariners in exchange
for Minor League outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang and acquired Bedard and Fields.
It will be another test for the Francona to adjust Bedard along with his oft-injured situation. Bedard has 4-7 with 3.45 ERA in 16 starts this season for the Mariners. His 32-day layoff after being on the disabled list was evident from his performance against
the Tampa Bay Rays. He scattered five runs and three hits, walked four and made only two strike-outs on relatively high 57 pitches in just over a single inning.
Since he joined the Mariners in 2008, he appeared in 46 games and made 15-14 with a 3.31 ERA. He might have gained some positive thing in his pitching technique but he missed most of the 2009 season and whole 2010 after left shoulder surgery. This year,
he also spent most of July on the disabled list due to a knee injury.
It will be interesting to see what type of impact Bedard and Fields will have on the Red Sox line-up. If Bedard manages to stay healthy he is sure to have a positive role in the team.
The Red Sox will be looking to both Bedard and Fields to bring their best efforts and help the team during the season. Only time will tell if this mid-season trade pays off for the Red Sox, as with all trades there is always an element of risk involved.
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