Erik Bedard is still a Baltimore Oriole. Truth be told, there’s a good chance that he’ll still be an Oriole when the team opens it’s season at Camden Yards in the last day of March. After all, the 28-year-old-lefty is  the best starter Baltimore’s boasted since Mike Mussina became a Yankee and he’s still under contract with the O’s for two more years.

I think that the Orioles should do everything in their power to lock Bedard up for the long-haul. If that means giving him the type of contract that Mussina wanted before he fled, then they should do it. If I’m Andy MacPhail, I take a note from Cuba Gooding Jr. and show him the money.

That said though, I get the feeling - and maybe it’s just the pessimistic Orioles fan in me - that the Canaidan southpaw doesn’t want to stay with the Birds. Sure, he has two morwe years left before he can file for free-agency, and maybe the Orioles should hold him hostage until the last moment and then deal him.

But there are as many suitors for the ace-starter now as there ever will be, and if MacPhail and his front-office co-horts feel like Bedard won’t sign a long-term deal, I woudln’t be upset if they pulled the trigger on a deal to ship the fifth-year Major Leaguer out for a slew of young talent.

Here are a couple of trades that I think Baltimore should at least explore…

1) A swap with the Cincinnati Reds that would involve Homer Bailey and Joey Votto.

A 21-year-old RHP, Bailey’s long been considered Cincy’s top farm-hand. He was promoted to the majors for the first time this past season, and in his third-ever start managed to two-hit the Oakland A’s over seven-strong innings. He injured his groin soon there-after and ended up giving a ton of runs before being shut-down for a couple of months. His fastball pops in the mid/high 90’s and his curve does to hitters what head-lights do to a deer.

An RBI machine who has nothing left to accomplish in the minors, Votto is a first-baseman with the ability to hit for both power and average. Now 24 and still with less than a month of MLB action to his name, the Canadian corner-infielder is primed to play everyday in the majors. Last season in Louisville, Votto hit .292/22/92 last season, as 2007 marked the second straight year that he hit over .290 with more than 20-homers and better than 90-RBI. Votto would start at first every day for the Orioles, and he’d be an upgrade over Kevn Millar.

2. A swap with the Seattle Mariners that would involve Brandon Morrow and Adam Jones.

Morrow was Seattle’s first choice - and the fifth-overall - in the 2006 first-year-player-draft. After making just eight-appearances in the minors in 2006, it was expected that Morrow would start 2007 at AA. That wasn’t the case though, as the University of California product made the major league roster out of spring training and spent the entire season in the majors as a member of the Mariner-bullpen. The 23-year-old pitched in 60-games this past season, fanning 66, and pitching to a respectable 4.12 era. Not bad for a kid who should have been pitching in the minors.

Jones is a 22-year-old outfield-prospect who is oozing with potential and upside. He’s a toolsy player who can steal bases, play gold-glove caliber defense, and swing for some power. Like Morrow, Jones spent some time in the major leagues last season, when he hit .246 with the big-club in 41-games. Despite his struggles at the dish as a major-leaguer, Jones did hit .314/25/84 at AAA-Tacoma in 101-games. There is no reason to believe that he won’t put up similar numbers in the big leagues in time, all he needs is an opportunity.

3) A trade with the LA Dodgers that would be based around a pitching-prospect - the best case scenario being Clayton Kershaw - and James Loney.

Kershaw was a top-10 pick in 2006, and he dominated with AA-Jacksonville last season despite being just 19-years-old. An over-powering lefty who spent his formative years growing up in an affluent Texas-community, Kershaw goes about 6-3 and 210-pounds. In 122 professional innings since being drafted Kershaw has fanned 163 batters. He’s pitched to a 2.65 era in 25 minor-league starts, 20 of which have come in A-ball. He’s a future ace with 20-game ability, and assuming he stays healthy, he’s two years away from being Major League ready.

Loney is a 23-year-old first-baseman who is finally ready to play in the Major Leagues on an everyday basis. The 2007 season marked Loney’s breakout campaign in Dodger-blue, and with Loney swining at a .331 clip, belting 15-homers, and driving in 67-runs, it won’t be easy to top. While I don’t know if the lefty-swinger will ever hit .331 in a season again, I’m confident that he could hit a lot more homers and drive in a ton more runs in a full season of swinging for the fences at Camden Yards.

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Again though … I don’t think the Orioles should trade Bedard. It’s my belief though that if they do trade their best pitcher, the O’s should make calls to try to execute one of the three deals I’ve mentioned above.