Without Lastings Milledge on the roster, the Mets have all but squandered their opportunity to acquire a starting pitcher out of Oakland. Dan Haren and Joe Blanton are both leading candidates on the Mets wish list, but could now be out of reach for them. Billy Beane, the GM for Oakland, has repeatedly shown interest in getting Lastings Milledge. Now that Milledge is gone however, the opportunity to move a prospect for a young front of the rotation pitcher seems to have passed.
While I think Brian Schneider and Ryan Church will be additions the Mets can use immediately, I feel that the main concern going into the winter meetings has not been addressed. The small impact that these two position players will have, is not what the Mets needed to overcome the late season meltdown. The problem not being addressed is pitching, both in the bullpen and in the rotation. By moving a young prospect (Milledge) without getting one or more in return, the Mets are gambling that we can deal one of our catchers to get a pitcher who will immediately enter the starting rotation. Oakland has been known to make the most out of young talent, and get quality playing time out of players they draft and develop through their minor league systems. Therefore, the Mets should consider focusing their energy not with Oakland, but with Baltimore for their prized position, Erik Bedard.

Bedard pitched fairly well for a Baltimore team that did not field a very competitive team day in and day out last season. The Lefty threw 182.0 innings last season, with an impressive 221 strikeouts. Even more impressive than his 221 strikeouts, is the rate at which Bedard walks, or doesn’t walk hitters. A total of 57 walks last season, points to the fact that this native Canadian has a very good command of the strike zone. Bedard will be 29 in April of 2008, and one can reasonably assume that his pitching command will remain the same for the next several years the Mets would need him to be effective.

Bedard will almost certainly require a long term contract to obtain his services. The other stipulation will of course be who the Mets need to move to entice the Orioles to trade Bedard in the first place. Will Baltimore look to bolster its catching position? Ramon Hernandez has been a decent replacement for Javy Lopez, but is he healthy enough to catch the majority of games they need him too? Would the O’s look for a young player the likes of Carlos Gomez or Phil Humber that they could possibly develop into a big leaguer over time? The trade talks to get Bedard have not been very active in the media; but MetsJunkie is determined to push these talks into the fore front, as a strong left handed pitcher at the top of the rotation could prove to be the missing piece in New York.