It looks like Erik Bedard will be indeed staying in Seattle. He confirmed as much yesterday if the reports are correct...

From the Seattle Times: Free-agent pitcher Erik Bedard confirmed to a Canadian newspaper that he has agreed to terms with the Mariners on a one-year contract for 2010.

Bedard, who turns 31 on March 5, was in Seattle undergoing a physical examination on Friday. The Mariners' medical staff was believed to be still evaluating test results on Friday, but an announcement of the deal could come as soon as Saturday, barring unforeseen issues.

According to Le Droit, a Canadian French-language newspaper in Ottawa — Bedard is from Navan, Ontario — the left-hander said he accepted a one-year deal with a base salary of $1.5 million. He can earn considerably more with incentives, likely based on how much he pitches and time spent on the active roster.

The paper quoted Bedard saying he "hopefully" could make "roughly the same" as the $7.5 million he earned last year if he hit all his incentives.

"I am truly happy. It was my first choice to return to Seattle," he told the newspaper in French. "I think the team will be really good this season. I very much like the direction the team is going."

Bedard underwent shoulder surgery in Los Angeles on Aug. 14, during which Dr. Lewis Yocum repaired a torn labrum, an injury that typically has a 10- to 12-month recovery period.

That means Bedard won't be ready for the start of the season, but could be a dynamic midseason addition to the rotation if his shoulder responds. Torn labrums, however, are notorious for being a problematic injury for a pitcher to come back from.

Who could blame him for wanting to stay in Seattle? With the team they have on paper so far, they look like a contender and if Bedard's healthy, he'll be part of probably one of the strongest starting rotations in the game.

Other Stuff:

• Roch Kubatko has more insight as to why Bedard would want to stay with Seattle.
  
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• Spencer Fordin has a piece on reliever Jim Johnson.
• Steve Melewski had a great post on his blog (via MASN) about the future of the Orioles payroll and the young players.
  
• These days, I have no idea why some players still dabble with PED's and substances banned by Major League Basbeall along with their minor league affiliates, but Orioleminor league pitcher Brian Parker was given a 50-game suspension. According to the Baltimore Sun, he was suspended for testing positive for a second time for drug violations.
• Former Oriole Larry Bigbie was inducted into the Ball State Hall of Fame for his baseball acheivements. It's too bad he never really made it the Baltimore organization. Fans seemed to like Larry and he was a nice guy; however, things didn't go as planned.
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