After weeks of rumors and delays, the Seattle Mariners finally got Erik Bedard. The lefty ace brought back a handsome ransom for the Baltimore Orioles, and most analysts are giving the victory to them in the long term, at least initially. The O’s receive young outfielder Adam Jones, left-handed reliever George Sherrill, and pitching prospects Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolio and Tony Butler.

The Mariners pulled Jones from winter ball playoffs (against his will) almost a couple of weeks ago, but the physicals and the announcement didn’t happen until the end of last week. From the looks of it, this looks like a botched deal by one or both managements involved.

Bedard will be moving into an easier division, a bigger ballpark, and in front of a much better defense, which should make him into an even better fantasy option than he already was. He will provide a legitimate ace for the M’s, giving young Felix Hernandez time to blossom at his own pace, and giving Seattle a shot at being competitive for at least two years. If I’m Bill Bavasi, I don’t stop here, because I don’t see this team being able to unseat the Angels at the top of the division just yet.

As for the Orioles, it appears that meddling owner Peter Angelos is finally taking a chance on truly rebuilding his team from the ground up. You have to love an outfield that includes Jones and Nick Markakis, and these big, hard-throwing pitching prospects are what they will need to eventually compete in the AL East. There is some talk that Sherrill could be used in the closer’s role, which makes him a key fantasy reliever to watch. The other closing options in Baltimore are Chris Ray, who is coming off of a major injury, Jamie Walker and Chad Bradford.