Bedard fills Red Sox rotation need 

The Boston Red Sox have acquired left-handed starter Erik Bedard and reliever Josh Fields in a three-way deal involving the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Red Sox traded catcher Tim Federowicz and right-handed pitchers Juan Rodriguez and Stephen Fife to the Dodgers, who completed the deal by trading center fielder Trayvon Robinson and Chih-Hsien Chiang to the Red Sox. Boston then sent Robinson and Chiang to the Mariners.

By acquiring the left-handed Bedard, the Red Sox get the pitcher they wanted for the back end of the rotation without giving up much. Bedard, 32, was 4-7 with an ERA of 3.45 and a WHIP of 1.172 in 16 games started with 87 strikeouts and 77 hits in 91⅓ innings pitched. In his 16 starts for the Mariners this year, only three times did he give up more than three earned runs in a start. Bedard will pitch at 88-92 mph with a solid curveball and effective changeup. He is a health risk, and it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of pitching at Fenway Park. He certainly gives the Red Sox much-needed rotation depth, and for what they gave up (very little), Bedard is worth the gamble.

The Mariners get a solid center-field prospect in Robinson, who has the ability to steal bases and is a plus defender. Robinson has surprising power and is a quality line-drive hitter. He is prone to strikeouts, but has tremendous makeup. Chiang, 23, was hitting .338/.399 with 36 doubles, 18 home runs and 76 RBIs at Double-A Portland of the Eastern League. His swing is a little long but he makes sweet-spot contact when he gets a pitch he can handle.

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