Even though the Red Sox' deal for Rich Harden fell through, general manager Theo Epstein was still able to acquire a starting pitcher prior to Sunday's 4 p.m. trade deadline.
The Sox have acquired Erik Bedard from the Seattle Mariners as part of a three-team deal that also includes the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Sox ship out four minor leaguers as part of the trade that also nets the Sox 25-year-old minor league reliever Josh Fields.
The Sox will send catcher Tim Federowicz and pitchers Stephen Fife and Juan Rodriguez to the Dodgers, and outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang to the Mariners. The Mariners will also receive Dodgers outfield prospect Trayvon Robinson.
Bedard is 4-7 with a 3.45 ERA in 16 starts with the Mariners this season. He's battled injuries for the past three seasons, which forced him to miss all of 2010 and limited him to 15 starts in both 2008 and 2009.
The 32-year-old Bedard is 55-48 with a 3.69 ERA in 160 games (157 starts) with the Orioles and Mariners.
With Clay Buchholz's injury status still uncertain, Epstein and Co. decided to strongly pursue starting pitching leading up to Sunday's deadline. The team had reportedly had a deal in place for Oakland right-hander Rich Harden on Saturday night, but it eventually fell through because of medical concerns.
