The Santana Fallback: The Baltimore Orioles' Erik Bedard

As I have opined time and time on this blog and on Oriole Magic, I didn't think that Erik Bedard was all that hip to signing an extension and staying in Baltimore.

Now according to the Washington Post's Dave Shenin and Barry Svrluga, Bedard does not want to stay in Baltimore

For those teams that lose out on Santana, there still is no shortage of attractive pitchers available on the trade market.

Perhaps the best of those is left-hander Erik Bedard of the Baltimore Orioles, who is definitely available now that, according to league sources, he has informed the team he has no interest in signing an extension to stay in Baltimore beyond 2009, when he hits free agency.

And Bedard, who is perhaps one more solid year away from establishing himself as a true No. 1 starter, could be a poor man's Santana, costing a team half the talent and less than half the money (if they are interested in extending him) in a trade.

I have said before, he may not stay with the Orioles and considering his success in 2007, now is the time to deal him. He needs to put up good numbers for one more year before he can really, really reap the benefits of free agency and prove he can stay healthy.

Baltimore will not likely contend for at least 2 seasons, and I'd see resources put in place to secure young players who could be a core part of the organization's future.

I know some people may give me grief, but the move should be done if Erik has no interest in being an Oriole. I would hate to trade with the Red Sox or Yankees; however, if they can give us prospects or major league talent, I say move on it.