Notebook | Shift in the trade market

OAKLAND, Calif. — On a day the Mariners sidelined Erik Bedard until after the All-Star break, his stature as perhaps the top remaining arm in baseball's trade market was solidified even more.

That's because, across the diamond in the opposing clubhouse, the Oakland Athletics had just sent fellow Canadian starter Rich Harden packing to the Chicago Cubs in a six-player swap. Harden and fellow pitcher Chad Gaudin were sent off to the Windy City in exchange for young starter Sean Gallagher, outfielder Matt Murton, infielder Eric Patterson and minor league catcher Josh Donaldson.

On the one hand, the move limits the markets available for the Mariners to deal Bedard to — though Chicago was always a longshot at best. The flip side of that, though, is that the trade of the oft-injured Harden, one day after CC Sabathia was dealt to Milwaukee, leaves Bedard as one of the few viable options for a contending team hoping to land a top-of-the-rotation arm.

The trouble with Bedard is that he has battled an assortment of hurts and now has trouble going more than five or six innings. Seattle will have to try to get Bedard healthy enough to pitch deeper into games after the break if it hopes to maximize any returns for him on the trade front.

"He had some tightness in his arm a few days ago, we've got the pitching to get through it, and we've got the All-Star break coming up," Mariners manager Jim Riggleman said. "Let's take advantage of those four days and see if we can come back after the break and get the nagging type of stuff out of the way. And more importantly, [get] the arm situation behind us so he can feel confident, go out there and throw all his pitches and get us deep into the ballgame."

Riggleman now plans to start Bedard in the fourth game after the break on July 21. That leaves Bedard a prime candidate to be put on the disabled list, retroactive to July 4, in order to free up a roster spot for Felix Hernandez to be activated by the team on Friday in Kansas City.

The Harden trade was, predictably, met by immediate skepticism from some fans in the Oakland area. Harden is one of the top pitchers in baseball when healthy and was still under club control through the 2009 season — the same as Bedard is now.

"It's always tough letting talented players go," A's general manager Billy Beane said. "But it's always nice acquiring talented players."

The A's, unlikely to seriously contend before next year or 2010, knew they weren't going to commit long-term to Harden and wanted to get some value in return. Beane is hoping Gallagher — whom he called the deal's key from his end — brings some long-term value, and that Murton, only 26, joins center fielder Carlos Gonzalez and right fielder Ryan Sweeney in solidifying his outfield for years to come.

Gallagher, 22, was 3-4 with a 4.45 earned-run average in a dozen games with the Cubs this season, 10 of them starts. He was promoted from Class AAA in May.

"It's very difficult to acquire young starting pitching," Beane said. "And to get a guy who's already performing at the major-league level, it's tough to get."

Any serious returns for Bedard could depend on multiple teams competing for his services. The Philadelphia Phillies are said to be interested, while the St. Louis Cardinals are in need of arms as well.

Bedard gave an interview to the local ESPN radio affiliate station in Philadelphia on Monday and was asked whether he'd like to pitch for a contender.

"Oh, yeah, definitely," he replied. "Any time you're with a contending team, it's more exciting. [You're] more prepared. ... It's just more fun."

Notes

• Riggleman said he isn't expecting miracles out of Miguel Batista when he takes the mound on Wednesday night in his first start since getting blown out at Shea Stadium on June 25.

"If he would be out there in the sixth inning, I think we'd be real happy," he said. "That would be a lot of pitching for him at this point, having not been extended a lot for quite a while."

Batista made back-to-back relief appearances of two and one innings over the weekend against Detroit. It was his only action since that previous start, when he gave up eight runs — four earned — to the Mets in just 2-2/3 innings.

Riggleman has Batista penciled in as the fifth starter to begin the post-All-Star break portion of the schedule. But he said that could change and that the team might move him up if it sees a matchup that favors him.

• The Mariners did some lineup shuffling before Tuesday's game, replacing middle infielders Yuniesky Betancourt and Jose Lopez with Willie Bloomquist and Miguel Cairo, respectively. Lopez was still sore after fouling a pitch off his knee; he later came out of Monday's game. Cairo wound up with a sixth-inning single, only the second hit all night for the Mariners off Oakland starter Justin Duchscherer.

Betancourt was given a regular night off, which should be his last for quite a while as the team plans to go with the Lopez-Betancourt combination throughout the remainder of the pre-All Star schedule and well into the "second half" of the season.

• Richie Sexson has reached base safely in 18 of his last 19 games. On Tuesday, he stroked a double in the fifth inning to give him an extra-base hit in consecutive games for the first time since April 6 and 7.

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

For the record

Streak: L3

Home: 19-27

Road: 16-28

vs. AL West: 10-16

vs. L.A.: 3-6

vs. Oakland: 3-4

vs. Texas: 4-6

vs. AL East: 11-18

vs. AL Cent.: 5-12

vs. NL: 9-9

vs. LHP: 9-15

vs. RHP: 26-40

Day: 10-18

Night: 25-37

One-run: 10-17

Extra innings: 2-3