For all the temptation to trade Erik Bedard, there may yet be an even greater pull for the Orioles to keep him. Orioles' President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail won't trade Bedard without first determining what it would take to sign him to a contract extension, according to a report published on Thursday in the Baltimore Sun. MacPhail is set to begin conversations with Bedard's agent before next month's Winter Meetings begin. "Young left-handed starters don't grow on trees," MacPhail told the Sun. "Especially ones that are potentially dominant as Erik has been." Bedard, 28, finished the 2007 season with a 13-5 record, a 3.16 ERA and 221 strikeouts despite missing an entire month with a strained right oblique. His current contract runs through 2009, and an extension would require the Orioles to offer significantly more money per year than the $3.4 million Bedard made in 2007.