Orioles president Andy MacPhail says the Orioles are now considering contingency plans in case second baseman Brian Roberts is not ready for the start of the season, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Roberts is dealing with a herniated disc in his back, and also had a bad reaction to medication he took for the injury.
According to Zrebiec, "MacPhail said he might start having his scouts look at who is available on the trade market along with exploring internal options." Current Orioles Robert Andino, Ty Wigginton, and Justin Turner have experience at second base.
My own speculation on potential second base trade candidates brings five names: Julio Lugo, Delwyn Young, Ramon Vazquez, Augie Ojeda, and Gregorio Petit.
what about jose lopez of Seattle or dan uggla or Florida? O wait, this is the orioles, nevermind.
What does that mean exactly? The Orioles can’t pull off big trades?
The Orioles have been pulling off great trades for the last several years.
The O’s can have Alexi Casilla and Glen Perkins for Jim Johnson and a spare minor league part…
They can have Fontenot or Baker from the Cubs.
I was thinking the same, though it’d likely be Fontenot. Wonder if the O’s have an expendable veteran reliever the Cubs are desperate to obtain.
fontenot for a guy like sarfate or something? i could see it happening. it would be awesome for the cubs to get meredith or johnson but the o’s have no reason to trade one of them and it would cost more than fontenot for either…
I seem to remember the Cubs having interest in Meredith in the past. And I agree, the Orioles are going to want more return than a one month injury replacement/utility infielder. I’m not a huge fan of Meredith, so I’m hoping the Cubs pass if that’s the case.
The only problem is that they gave us Fontenot in the Sosa trade. Not sure if they want him back.
There’s also the possibility that the Cubs believe Fontenot really can play SS. That would leave Blanco with nowhere to go and no options. Now Blanco isn’t anything to get excited about. But for one month, he’ll give you good defense, heady play, and a solid utility guy when Roberts gets back. And he’d probably cost next to nothing.
“The only problem is that they gave us Fontenot in the Sosa trade. Not sure if they want him back.”
True, but MacPhail was with the Cubs when that deal happened. Maybe they would take Fonteno back. They would not have to give up much.
Mike Fotenot for PTBNL.
Any chance they trade Mike Gonzalez for Casilla and Perkins? Too much for the Twins?
casilla and perkins are not nearly enough for gonzalez…
Dont forget Aki Iwamura either, although he’d cost more…
I would love to see Aki with the O’s, a real 1st class act and good player, but he would cost 9like you said) though he can also play a nifty 3B as well after roberts comes back.
One of the more unheralded players in the game and can hit 1-2, or anywhere from 6-9 in most lineups. If the O’s could afford his contract..
i m not sure about the Os financial situation but Aki has a very nice contract for his ability- in the $4.5M range. I do imagine the Pirates would want at least one real prospect though, for Aki, and maybe a throw in.
You guys want Castillo?
Mets fans are STILL trying to dump Castillo, but who would you put there now? Hudson and Lopez are off the market. He hit .302 last year, you have bigger problems than Luis Castillo.
I would trade some bats for him, little league bats to be exact.
Who cares what the Mets get back and who’d play there with him gone, just not having him is a plus… Daniel Murphy did play OK 2nd base in the Arizona Fall League, so he could fill in there if they wanted to go with Ike Davis at 1st or if they are still persistent on putting him in AAA, they could finally give Chris Carter a shot or just use Mike Jacobs at 1st.
Willie Bloomquist of the Royals could be cheap. Or if they are looking for a bit more, maybe Alberto Callaspo.
callaspo could be an amazing bargain this spring… if you can stand his defense that is. i would love to see him come to the cubs. baker and fontenot aren’t amazing defenders at all and callaspo would have a better bat.
Felix Pie for Jayson Nix makes some sense. Probably not enough in return for the O’s, but close enough that something could be worked out I’m sure.
it doesn’t sound like roberts will be out for that long… pie showed improvement last year and could still be great. he’s still young.
I actually think Nix could be a potential bargain if he were traded (depending of course on the return). I’m really high on him. He plays excellent defense at 2B, runs the bases well, and has good power, especially against LHP. He’s also pretty patient. His average was really low, but his .249 BABIP is bound to go up. I think he’s a potential 20-20 2B with a decent chance at .260/.340/.460 at the height of his career, which is damn good for a 2B. I mean, that’s his ceiling I would say, but his floor is high enough that even if he doesn’t reach it he’s a solid utility guy. I don’t think that’s too far off from what Pie has shown.
But you are right…they just need a stopgap, and probably don’t want to give up Pie to get it.
Any trade speculation must consider that Roberts might only need a replacement for the first month or so. It’s an insurance policy, but not one that would be a significant trade either way. Middle infielders out of options or in roster crunches seem to be the way for them to go. Andino is already a pretty solid middle infielder with the glove, so any replacement might be looking for someone who can offer some leadoff capabilities, which is pretty tough to find.
Agreed, which is why I left out some of the bigger possibly-available names. It’d be a low-scale trade if any.
Exactly. The guys being targeted should mostly be out of options, and probably capable of playing both 2B and SS, so what if they get off to a hot start and Izturis struggles (or after Izturis is gone), they can fill in at shortstop until a better option presents itself.
Alexi Casilla jumped into my head, obviously, as a Twins fan, but there’s plenty who fit the bill.
Missing out on a few weeks of Roberts isn’t going to make the team trade for Dan Uggla or Jose Lopez. He’s not done for the season here.
I’m sure it will be a low cost move if they go outside the organization. That’s not the concern. Long term is the concern. A month…maybe. He plays a position in diving, bending and DP pivots not to mention relying on speed, stolen bases and taking an extra base. I’m not sure how serious Roberts injury is, but a herniated disc on anyone is bad, let alone an MLB player who plays middle infield.
Kevin Frandsen from the giants would be an ideal fit. Currently blocked by Uribe and Sanchez with only one option left. Throw in one of the giants multiple good pitching prospects for a decent outfield bat, and we might have ourselves a G– da– DEAL!!
With the Cards’ recent acquisition of Lopez, Lugo could be expendable. Maybe bring some lower tier relief pitching from the O’s?
It would have to be pretty damn low tier, we’re talking a batting practice pitcher at best.
Julio Lugo! Have Orioles fan suffered enough?
Mark Grudzielanek? Didn’t he want to compete for the Indians 2B spot with Vallenuva? Orioles should take a look at him.
Why not just give the job to Robert Andino or Blake Davis? I know their not that good but even if they somehow trade for Chase Utley they still wouldn’t get to the playoffs. Stay in house Macphail, and if not… just please don’t get Lugo.
Macphail is smart enough not to waste trade chips for useless players such as Lugo. I believe we are going to stay in-house on this one…. he hasnt broken the bank yet this off-season with any big trades, dont see him doing anything atm either.
Crazy idea but how about Miguel Tejada at second base and letting Josh Bell get his feet wet in the majors?
Eh, JOsh Bell had three errors in a game the other day, I say we let him wait until at least July.
what about Jamey Carroll, a prospect, and some cash to Baltimore and LA gets Joshua Bell back; how that there be?
Kevin Frandsen?
Hernan Iribarren, MIL.