Gammons' Latest: Crisp, Piazza, Wells

ESPN's Peter Gammons has a new blog post up. Peter Angelos might put the kibosh on any Brian Roberts trade. The Red Sox apparently wouldn't mind shipping Coco Crisp to the Cubs for Sean Gallagher and another prospect. The Sox might hope Crisp is the Cubs' backup plan to Roberts. Gammons says Tommy Lasorda suggested the Dodgers consider Mike Piazza as a backup catcher; they are not interested. It would've been fun to see Piazza finish his career in L.A. Another free agent, David Wells, "hasn't gotten a sniff from any team." It's only April 23rd, so desperation hasn't quite...

Cubs Outfield Situation: Crisp, Johnson, Byrd

Quite a bit of info is floating about this evening regarding the Cubs' quest to add an outfielder. Let's put it all together. SI.com's Jon Heyman names Coco Crisp, Jay Payton, Marlon Byrd, and Brandon Inge as possible targets. Inge makes the least sense given his salary and the Tigers' need for him while Curtis Granderson is out. ESPN's Jayson Stark confirms Ken Rosenthal's assertion that the Cubs are leading the pack for Reed Johnson. Stark speculates that such an acquisition could prompt the Cubs to trade Matt Murton. ESPN's Peter Gammons says Red Sox scout Allard Baird is currently...

Orioles Eyeing Cubs' Marshall?

The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec says the Cubs offered the Orioles Ronny Cedeno, Sean Gallagher, Donald Veal, and possibly Jose Ceda for Brian Roberts earlier this spring. As you know, there are differing schools of thought on whether the Cubs took the initiative and made an offer. And Ceda's inclusion is questionable. Regardless, one player Baltimore may have in mind is pitcher Sean Marshall. The Cubs do not have room for the lefty in the rotation or the bullpen - always a situation conducive to trade rumors - and the Orioles had scouts in the stands yesterday, during Marshall's start...

Cubs Did Not Offer Ceda

FRIDAY, 7:42pm: I have it on good authority that Ceda has not, in fact, been added to any kind of offer to Baltimore. With minor league games having begun today, the O's are still doing their due diligence. Dave van Dyck's sources agree that no deal is imminent. FRIDAY, 7:13am: We've actually got some movement this morning on the Brian Roberts front. According to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Cubs have added hard-throwing 21 year-old reliever Jose Ceda to their offer. They'd also send Sean Gallagher, Ronny Cedeno, and Donald Veal to Baltimore. The Cubs had been holding...

Brian Roberts Rumors

Ah, Brian Roberts. The Cubs' talks with the Orioles have stagnated, though the O's still watched a slimmed-down Sean Gallagher on Sunday. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times still thinks it gets done by Opening Day. For now I just have a tidbit to add from the esteemed Peter Gammons in Saturday's blog: The Cubs will eventually get Brian Roberts. Andy MacPhail has to decide whom he wants. But the Cubs are convinced it will happen.

Odds and Ends: Roberts, Gibbons, Matthews

The Cubs and Orioles continue to be linked in trade speculation involving Brian Roberts. The latest from the Chicago Tribune says that an Orioles scout was in attendance for Sean Gallagher's two hitless innings on Saturday. The amount of time it's taking for these two clubs to get their acts together on this deal continues to be mind-boggling. The Trib is also reporting that Jon Lieber took a big step towards earning the fifth spot in the Cubs rotation on Saturday, coming through with four shutout innings against the Diamondbacks. Ryan Dempster and Jason Marquis are also in the mix....

No Recent Brian Roberts Talks

SI.com's Jon Heyman wrote on Monday that the Cubs and Orioles had resumed talks for Brian Roberts. However, Cubs GM Jim Hendry came out on Wednesday and said he hadn't had any trade talks for five or six days. Tonight, the Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec chimes in, confirming Hendry's statement of inactivity. Zrebiec was able to confirm from two sources that the Cubs offered Ronny Cedeno, Sean Gallagher, Donald Veal, and another unknown player for Roberts. The teams can't agree on the fourth player, and the O's may want a fifth too. The Orioles are said to like top Cubs'...

Cubs-Orioles Roberts Talks Getting Serious

According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, the Cubs and Orioles are talking Brian Roberts trade again. A source of Heyman's "indicated discussions were starting to get serious." Heyman says one scenario has the O's sending Jay Payton along with Roberts to Chicago. Although he'd fill the Cubs' desire for a right-handed hitting fourth outfielder who can handle center, Payton has to have negative trade value with a $5MM salary for '08 and a .668 OPS last year. The Cubs could send Jason Marquis back, but his two years and $19.25MM might be overcompensating for Payton's bad contract. Heyman names the...

Brian Roberts Rumors

Jeff Zrebiec and Roch Kubatko of the Baltimore Sun are on top of the Brian Roberts rumors. Let's discuss. The Cubs had two scouts watching Roberts play yesterday, so this thing is still alive and kicking. The Sun gets the impression that the Mark DeRosa heart surgery does add some urgency for the Cubs. Perhaps this means they'll concede a little bit extra on their offer. The authors reiterate Ronny Cedeno and Sean Gallagher as part of the deal. They say the O's might want Jose Ceda or Donald Veal as the third player, and could ask for a fourth...

Brian Roberts Rumors

Nothing groundbreaking on the Brian Roberts front, but here's the latest from Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Zrebiec says the O's won't send their scout to watch the Cubs until next week. It's still looking like Ronny Cedeno, Sean Gallagher, and one or two others. Zrebiec adds: Both sides remain optimistic that a deal could get done. This is obviously dragging, but the Orioles have no incentive to rush.

Brian Roberts Rumors

Yesterday, SI.com's Jon Heyman wrote that the Cubs-Orioles Brian Roberts trade talks still have a little life, and the O's are scouting various young Cubs. On Sunday Jim Salisbury said the Orioles only needed to decide which pitchers they want to complete a deal. Today, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times checks in with the latest. To begin with, Mark DeRosa's heart complications seem under control, and won't force the Cubs' hand. Wittenmyer adds that the ball is indeed in Baltimore's court, and their scouts will need at least a week to observe various Cubs. He says the Orioles are...

Brian Roberts Rumors

MONDAY: SI.com's Jon Heyman says a Roberts to Chicago trade still has a little life, and the Orioles are scouting Cubs' players. Meanwhile Jason Churchill wrote a few days ago that the O's may require Felix Pie or Tyler Colvin instead of the Cubs' apparent offer of Ronny Cedeno, Sean Gallagher, and Kevin Hart. Churchill says the O's are also high on Eric Patterson. SUNDAY: Check out this piece by Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Here's the one-liner that has caught some readers' attention: Sources say that Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts will be traded to the Cubs as...