Cubs Aggressively Pursuing Brian Roberts

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:58pm: The Baltimore Sun guys have more.  The Cubs have a significant offer on the table, and it may include Gallagher and Matt Murton (but not Hill or Pie).  The Cubs will have to do better than just Gallagher and Murton, I imagine.  According to Jayson Stark, the Cubs would have to be blown away to trade Hill or Pie.

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:03pm: ESPN Radio 1000’s Bruce Levine checks in to add that Ronny Cedeno would likely be involved in a Roberts deal.

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 9:39pm: ESPN’s Amy Nelson says Hill is not part of the Roberts talks.  Marshall, Gallagher, Felix Pie, and Donald Veal may be in the mix though.

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 8:17pm: ESPN’s Steve Phillips says the Orioles "would get Rich Hill and Sean Marshall" for Roberts.  Not sure if that means the Cubs offered it.  Seems like a lot, but I am an unabashed Rich Hill fan.

FROM 12-5-07 at 5:31pm:

Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun are reporting that the Cubs are aggressively pursuing the Orioles’ Brian Roberts.

A three player deal is on the table, so I assume the Cubs would send two players over.  It’s known that they’d send a starting pitcher, but we don’t have names yet.  The authors note that the Orioles have been fond of Rich Hill and Sean Gallagher in the past.  Keep in mind that a trade of Roberts would require Peter Angelos’ approval.  Per Zrebiec, Angelos would have to be "totally overwhelmed" with an offer.

The authors also note that the Orioles have talked to Tadahito Iguchi’s agent in anticipation of a possible Roberts trade.  The Padres and Dodgers would join the Orioles as his top three choices.