Phew!!! Erik Bedard Won’t Be A Chicago Cub

As the Chicago Cubs look for a starting pitcher, they are targeting once front line starters that have battled injuries in recent years. Among the pitchers that Cubs are interested are Aaron Harang, Brandon Webb, Erik Bedard, Jeff Francis, and Jeremy Bonderman. Well we can all breathe a sigh of relief, as Erik Bedard will not be a member of the Chicago Cubs next season.

As, the Seattle Mariners have announced that they’ve signed Bedard to a one year, non guaranteed contract.

In every year of his career, Bedard has been on the disabled list at least once in each. Bedard started 15 games for the Mariners in 2009, before his season was ended because of shoulder surgery. That was the second straight year that, that has happened with Bedard as a member of the Mariners. The last time Bedard was relatively healthy for a whole season was in 2007 with the Orioles, where he had a record of 13-5 with and ERA of 3.15.

To be honest, speculation on my part, felt that Jim Hendry would have signed Bedard over the other pitchers he is interested in. Because, you have to remember that in 2007, Bedard was nearly traded to the Chicago Cubs. I would figure that the Cubs will increase their efforts next week to sign one of the reclamation pitchers that they are looking at. My guess is that Brandon Webb is their top choice. If not Webb, I would go for Jeremy Bonderman. I know his numbers may not be the best, but he is the youngest, and has shown flashes of being a good pitcher.