The reason players rarely resign with a team that just traded them is because it doesn't make any sense. The whole reason for dumping a guy at the deadline is because he isn't in the teams plans or they can't afford him. If they wanted to keep him and he was willing to accept their offer, then they would extend him instead getting rid of him and hoping they could lock him up after he hits free agency and can sign with anyone.
More likely the reason the M's don't seem to be interested in Wash is because signing Bedard has basically maxed out their budget and they aren't going to spend any more money if it doesn't boost the offense. People have gotten fixated on the $1.5 million base salary and imagine the team still has a lot of wiggle room. That is probably not the case. It is standard practice to count the maximum potential earnings of an incentive-laden deal in a budget, not the minimum. So from Chuck and Howie's perspective, the M's have just taken on an $8 million (or whatever Bedard gets for hitting all the incentives) obligation and that means Z has a lot less money to work with than he did last week. If he has any intention of trading for another hitter at some point (which he certainly does) then he is better off waiting to see what offense he can add with the remaining cash because the pitching staff is already loaded.
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