M's dealt an ace with Erik Bedard

It will take some time before new Mariners pitcher Erik Bedard gets to know the city he's supposed to deliver to baseball's promised land.

"What do I know about Seattle? They've got the needle?" the former Baltimore Orioles starter ventured, drawing laughs at a Friday afternoon news conference at Safeco Field. "Not much. Hopefully, I'll learn more."

Hustled in on a flight Thursday morning, Bedard spent that afternoon and early Friday running on a treadmill and being poked and prodded by team physicians. By the time he was trotted out Friday, the long-awaited, oft-delayed trade for his services finally complete, he admitted his next move is to fly right back home to Ottawa.

"I've got to fly home and pack up for spring training," he said.

And the Mariners will pack their bags along with him, their offseason plans — at least the major ones — finally complete. Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi gave up plenty to acquire Bedard, including outfield super-prospect Adam Jones, left-handed reliever George Sherrill and minor-league pitchers Chris Tillman, Cam Mickolio and Tony Butler.

But Bavasi is banking on Bedard, a left-hander who turns 29 next month, giving his team a one-two pitching punch with perhaps its best starter since Randy Johnson left town a decade ago. Bavasi won't get drawn in to such comparisons, nor will he anoint Bedard his No. 1 starter ahead of 21-year-old incumbent Felix Hernandez.

Bavasi said it's even more important to consider the balance now distributed through all five slots in a rotation that was Seattle's weakest link last season. This winter, Bavasi essentially used Bedard and free-agent Carlos Silva to replace the struggling tandem of Jeff Weaver and Horacio Ramirez.

"We look at the impact that it has on the whole rotation," Bavasi said. "I think in John's [manager John McLaren] case he's more apt to identify who his fifth starter is. Each night you've got a No. 1 guy going out there. It's his job that night.

"I think that fifth guy, everybody's going to compete to stay out of that fifth spot because that's the one that would get skipped.

"Outside of that, we just think that, without putting any undue pressure on any one guy, we have got four guys — and now five guys — that can go out every night and win."

Indeed, the Mariners now are in a position where Miguel Batista, a 16-game-winner last year, could be their fifth starter. Or even Jarrod Washburn, their big offseason mound acquisition two years ago.

This was a deal that, at times, seemed like it would never get done. Jones had already been pulled twice from winter-ball stints and word out of Baltimore was that Orioles owner Peter Angelos was upset that Jones leaked details of the pending trade to a Venezuelan reporter.

A scheduled physical for Jones was abruptly canceled. Bavasi insisted Friday that Jones did nothing wrong, handled himself very well in his Jan. 27 statements and was not to blame for the long wait.

Bedard had been sitting at his home in Navan, Ontario, near Ottawa, waiting for someone to tell him what to do.

"I didn't really follow it," he said of the trade saga. "I'm in Ottawa, so there's not much news about baseball. I mainly just heard about family and friends. So, I was just waiting for my agent to call and say 'You're going to Seattle.' "

Now that he's here, the Mariners aren't planning any more major moves. Bavasi will go with Brad Wilkerson as his primary right fielder, replacing him on occasion with prospect Wladimir Balentien, or a possible minor trade acquisition.

He'll shelve plans to move Brandon Morrow to the starting rotation and re-insert him as a late-inning relief specialist in the seventh or eighth. Last year's starter, Ramirez, loses his starting spot without throwing another pitch and will have to compete for a long-relief job.

Bavasi will talk about a contract extension with Bedard's agent. For now, the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder is seeking $8 million in arbitration this season, though he said he was open to long-term offers from his former club.

"If they would have put a serious offer, maybe I would have considered it," Bedard said.

The Mariners have Bedard under club control for at least two years.

Their division rivals, the favored Los Angeles Angels, have already lost top starter Kelvim Escobar for the first month of the season. Another possible wild-card foe, the Boston Red Sox, will likely be without starting pitcher Curt Schilling for all of 2008.

Bavasi feels his team has a window of opportunity. He talked of watching the Mariners grow from a 99-loss team his first season to one that grew stronger under former manager Mike Hargrove.

"Now, we think we're kind of through with that," he said of the building stage, "and that it's time to go out and try to win."

Outgoing reliever Sherrill, while excited about the possibility of closing for his new Orioles squad, did lament that won't be around to see what happens with his former club.

"I've been through the rebuilding of the Mariners," he told reporters in a conference call. "I was called up halfway through '04, and we lost 99 games, and I was there in '05, when we lost 93 games."

But Sherrill had only good things to say about an organization that plucked him from an independent team and gave him his first shot at the major leagues. He wished them well in trying to take the next big step. They'll be doing that with a pitcher who was a Cy Young Award candidate through much of last season before a strained oblique muscle sidelined him for good in late August.

Bedard says he's healthy, has been throwing multiple bullpen sessions and has no lingering health issues.

"Erik has learned a lot the past few years about himself," said new Mariners third-base coach Sam Perlozzo, Bedard's manager in Baltimore for part of last season. "He's worked hard, and he understands himself better than he ever has. I think he's right where he's supposed to be. It's just a matter of repeating it now."

Just as Bedard will learn more about Seattle in the months ahead, Mariners fans are seeking any tidbit they can find on the team's potential playoff meal ticket. As a primer: Bedard admits to being media shy, didn't learn to speak English until junior college and favors the Ottawa Senators hockey team over the nearby Montreal Canadiens.

He plans to bring "intensity" to the mound when he pitches and expects his new teammates to do the same.

"With Baltimore, it seemed like we were going backwards," he said. "Obviously here they're going forward and trying to build a team that's competitive and can get in the playoffs and win."

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com.

Read his daily blog at www.seattletimes.com/Mariners