 |
|
|
| |
« Jays Will Attempt To Retain Burnett | Main | Bradley Wants Long Term Contract »
Orioles To Explore Extensions For Roberts, Markakis
In what the Baltimore Sun is calling a pivotal offseason, Orioles president of baseball operations, Andy MacPhail, said the team will initiate contract extension talks with the agents of second baseman Brian Roberts and outfielder Nick Markakis.
Roberts is eligible for free-agency after next season, and the Orioles had brief discussions with Jamie Murphy, Markakis' agent, during the All-Star game, but talks quickly ceased due to neither party being able to reach any common ground.
Roberts has been linked to several trade talks in the past, but he made no secret of the fact that he'd like to stay with the O's:
"I've always enjoyed Baltimore. I like playing here," Roberts told the Sun. "It's something that we'll have to sit down and look at this winter. If the opportunity arises, I'll sit down with the Orioles or my agent or my family or whoever and try to figure out the best thing to do. I just have trouble looking at it right now. I'm just trying to finish the season, and there's nothing really on the table to talk about it. But I enjoy being here. It's something that I'd definitely consider."
Markakis is considered the cornerstone of the Orioles' rebuilding plans.
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com and can be reached here: alexo05 (at) umpbump (dot) com.
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d834515b9a69e2010534bdc5af970c
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Orioles To Explore Extensions For Roberts, Markakis:
Comments
Verify your Comment
Previewing your Comment
This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.
As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.
Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.
Top Stories
Search MLBTR
MLBTR Features
Recent Posts
Rumors By Team
Monthly Archives
Live Chats
Tuesdays at 2 p.m. CST
Could be worse then signing roberts. I keep going back and forth on whether or not he should be traded. I f he can bring in a valuable infielder like weeks I think it would be smart to move him. I just think the package would end up being better then what he'll give us+the contract we give him.
Posted by: joemorgan=#1 | September 20, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Yeah, he should be traded, save the money for guys like Jones, Wieters, Tillman, Matusz. I agree with you, Weeks + Hardy could be a good deal
Posted by: viktor06 | September 20, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Signing Roberts to an extension would be a mistake. Much of his value is tied to his speed, which will surely decrease in coming years. The O's would even be better off letting his contract run out and then collecting the two draft picks when he signs with another team.
Posted by: Coley Ward | September 20, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Look at those proposed trades from the Cubs would any of them be taken one year later? No way. The O's should have to be overwhelmed to trade Roberts and while Hardy and Weeks sound great, giving up Sherrill and Tillman (b/c thats what it would take to get it done) don't sound so great. Roberts offers a lead-off option and pretty good Defense at 2b. As for his speed decreasing ok maybe that will be true, but Ichiro is still fast, Lofton can still run. There have been plenty of speedsters to play at that level well into their 30's. So while its possible Roberts speed fails him, its just as possible that he will be one of the top lead-off hitters for years to come. Also If the O's have any hope of getting Tex, or any top hitter they will need to resign Roberts to show they are serious. Money is not really an issue for the O's (Hardy and Weeks would cost more by the way) they have the MASN money plus plenty of flexiblity already.
Posted by: Steveo26 | September 20, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Player Relying on Speed + Past Age 30 + Requiring Multi-Year Investment = Poor Deal in the Making. Speed is always the first asset to go, and when that does what is he left with?
Take what you can get Orioles and run.
Posted by: AdropOFvenom | September 20, 2008 at 11:30 AM
I'd stay way far away from Weeks. He'll never have a good batting eye, no matter his incredible bat speed. Nor is he really a quality defender.
Posted by: Playwright | September 20, 2008 at 12:09 PM
Trade him.
Hard to rebuild around an aging 2B that will require major resources to retain.
Posted by: bjsguess | September 20, 2008 at 12:37 PM
First of all I would trade him.
Second of all, I would disagree with his value being only tied to his speed. He does a few things more than that. His glove is GG-caliber. He works counts like leadoff hitter should. Being able to hit at around .370-.380 OBP without raw power to boost it is a rare trait in the majors. That is a testament to his "Tough Out" type of AB. Second of all, even though he isn't really a power hitter at all, he is an excellent doubles power hitter. How many players in any given year hits near or at 50 doubles? Many folks focus on HRs a lot and ignore that. I would dare say doubles hitters are more critical in sparking offensive rallies than HRs are. With Roberts he is always in the middle of starting off those strings of singles and doubles that knock out pitchers.
Posted by: basemonkey | September 20, 2008 at 06:55 PM
In my opinion the folks here who say speed is his main asset obviously has never really watched Roberts play consistently. Honestly speaking, I can't really say he's that "fast." Not that he's slow-footed, but there are many players who are just flatout quicker, even on his own team (e.g. Adam Jones). Roberts gets his SBs from being a shrewd basestealer, not raw speed. The folks here who think speed is his main and only asset probably have never really watched him play, knew of him passingly, and just looked up his stats for the sake of conversation, and picked out what jumped out the most. He's not really a speed demon type.
The bags aren't insignificant to his value but I'd say his main asset is actually his OBP and contact rate. Robert's onbase is not a "soft" OBP. He's got a hard OBP and gives the toughest ABs in the AL EAST. I guess one player who gets a lot of hype right now for similar skills is Pedroia. Most of those types of players peak and fade fairly quickly but Roberts has been doing it consistently for a long while now.
Posted by: basemonkey | September 20, 2008 at 07:05 PM
The orioles neet to extend Roberts contract. If they don't we have the same problem that we do at ss. There are no stand out prospects for second in the minors and all it does is leaves a big hole in our middle infield.
Posted by: BaltimoreOrioles21 | October 11, 2008 at 01:31 PM