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Cubs Sign Alex Cintron

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Minor signing this morning, as the Cubs inked shortstop Alex Cintron to a minor league deal according to ESPN 1000 Radio’s Bruce Levine.  Does this have implications for Ronny Cedeno, who’s been a rumored piece in the Brian Roberts discussions?  And since Cintron had been on Baltimore’s radar, will they now focus on Juan Uribe?

Cintron, 29, hit .243/.281/.324 for the White Sox in 185 ABs last year.  He dealt with bone spurs in his elbow, a bruised thumb, and time spent on the bereavement list for his grandfather. 

Orioles Asked For Ceda In Roberts Deal

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According to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, the Orioles asked the Cubs for 21 year-old righty Jose Ceda as part of a Brian Roberts deal at some point this winter.  However, Ceda is untouchable for Jim Hendry.

Ceda is a large righty swiped from Kevin Towers for Todd Walker at the ’06 trade deadline.  Baseball America ranks him fourth among Cubs prospects, first among pitchers.  When Ceda switched to relief in July, he threw 23 hitless innings in A ball.  His fastball and slider are of Major League quality and Lou Piniella has noted that he could make the jump from A ball to the bigs.

Andy MacPhail said yesterday that he didn’t expect to trade Roberts before the Orioles’ Spring Training reporting date next week.

Brian Roberts Rumors

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Here’s the latest on the Brian Roberts situation.  From Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times:

Cubs want the switch-hitting leadoff hitter, are ready to deal from a pretty deep hand of prospects and would like to have Roberts in camp by the time the full squad reports next week. But nobody at Fitch Park seems to be counting on that, given the teeth-pulling, teeth-gnashing nature of talks with the glacial O’s.

And then there’s Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun:

Will Roberts be the next former Oriole?  Perhaps, but maybe not right away. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail has engaged in trade talks about the All-Star second baseman for months, so it won’t be surprising if he pulls something off soon. But there’s really no rush.

To sum it up: there’s nothing new, nothing imminent.  Wittenmyer also dismisses a rumor that the Cubs are after Joe Nathan.  The Cubs have the pieces they need to field a strong team, if they use them properly.

Angelos To Nix Roberts Trade?

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Some owners make headlines by talking to the press or releasing statements. This is best exemplified in New York, where the Steinbrenners aren’t strangers to reporters. Some owners, though, like to make headlines in other ways. Take Peter Angelos for example. People know him not because he speaks to the press, but rather because he’s always about to kill a certain move — a free agent signing or a trade. Yes, despite dealing Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada this off-season, Angelos still isn’t keen on dishing Brian Robers.

Jon Heyman is hearing that the haul for Roberts might not be enough for Angelos’s liking. The reported package includes pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielder Matt Murton, and infielder Ronny Cedeno. This isn’t the first deal for Roberts that Angelos has reportedly killed.

Heyman has an interesting bit on Angelos:

There is also a sense that Angelos has an unreasonable attachment to Roberts, who may well remind the owner of himself: a little guy who’s scrapped his way to the top of his profession (no, not baseball; Angelos is at the top of the legal profession, at least in terms of dollars earned).

Of course, there is no way to verify that this is the case. But if Angelos is holding back a possible Roberts deal, he might be doing a disservice to his team. They stand to benefit more in the future from the young talent they’d receive than they would from Roberts, who is 30 this year.

– Joe

Brian Roberts Rumors

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Who needs a Brian Roberts update?  You do, of course.

ESPN’s Buster Olney:

I’ve heard that Andy MacPhail is very much in favor of the notion of dealing Roberts to the Cubs, for the right price.

Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun quotes MacPhail as calling the Roberts situation a "logical question that will come next."  Trading him now certainly fits into MacPhail’s all-out rebuilding plan; he’s their last valuable veteran commodity.  Talks with the Cubs are expected to drag into spring as the teams decide which young pitchers and outfielders make sense, if any.  Zrebiec cautions that the O’s might keep Roberts for now and trade him in July, though.

Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune notes that people close to Roberts say he’d waive his no-trade clause to come to Chicago.  His salary would not pose a payroll problem for the Cubs, and Jim Hendry has approval to add a few more players before camp.

Brian Roberts Rumors

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Some of you are sick of it, some of you are clamoring for any kind of tidbit.  Here’s the latest on the Brian Roberts to the Cubs possibility.

  • Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times says Roberts is "back atop the Cubs’ wish list."  He says the Cubs are hopeful about their chances, but believes it would take most of Spring Training to hammer out the details.  The Orioles’ reported insistence on Felix Pie might lessen now that they have Adam Jones.  Seems that if these talks fall apart, it could be because the Orioles decided to extend Roberts’ contract and keep him as the face of the franchise (a long shot).
  • Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald says the Cubs remain interested and GM Jim Hendry hopes to chat with Andy MacPhail before Wednesday.  Miles’ source indicates that the Cubs and Orioles haven’t really gotten into specifics on the Roberts trade talks.  Miles doesn’t expect Pie or Tyler Colvin to be involved.

Erik Bedard Trade Official

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1:30pm: Ken Rosenthal reports that the deal is officially done.  The Mariners send Adam Jones, Chris Tillman, George Sherrill, Tony Butler, and Kam Mickolio to Baltimore for Erik Bedard.  I’ll have some analysis on the deal later this afternoon.  Rosenthal also notes that the Cubs "remain heavily interested" in Brian Roberts, so that deal could be next as the gutting of the Orioles continues.

10:45am: Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says Erik Bedard’s physical could carry over into today.  That means an announcement will come this afternoon at the earliest, or perhaps Saturday.  Baker also goes into some detail about 27 year-old Venezuelan baseball writer Augusto Cardenas, who helped start this debacle.

For a change of pace, think of the human element to this story.  It’ll make it more interesting.  Read SI.com’s recent profile on Bedard.  Anyone who breaks up the day with a few rounds of RBI Baseball is alright by me. 

I think video game designers are so focused on graphics these days that they neglect gameplay.  A game like RBI Baseball is more inclusive and fun than the current stuff.  People of all ages can figure it out in two minutes and have a good time.  Isn’t that the point?

Do The Red Sox Care About Blanton?

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With Joe Blanton seemingly the best available starter, the logical question is whether the Red Sox will now go after him.  Curt Schilling’s doctor believes he may never pitch again if he doesn’t have surgery.

The Globe and Mail’s Jeff Blair believes:

Theo Epstein has already laid some groundwork with the Oakland Athletics Billy Beane for a deal involving Joe Blanton, remnants of discussions the clubs had about Dan Haren before Haren was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

However, The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo wrote today that the Sox "merely kicked the tires on Erik Bedard and Dan Haren."

Ken Rosenthal suggested that Epstein might acquire more pitching depth, but didn’t mention Blanton.  Personally I do not see Epstein going the Blanton route.  Blanton doesn’t seem like the type of guy who would thrive in the AL East, though his price will be significant.  If anything, I’d expect Epstein to target a guy with good stuff, like Gil Meche, Ben Sheets, or Ian Snell (rather than the suggestions I have seen of Kyle Lohse or Jason Marquis).

Erik Bedard Rumors

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7:31pm: In case you wanted another update…the Sun says Bedard is still at home and hasn’t traveled to Seattle for a physical yet.

4:56pm: John Hickey says an official announcement won’t come today and may come on Wednesday.

8:54am: The Erik Bedard trade has had many accompanying micro-rumors as it’s dragged along.  The current micro-rumor, courtesy of Roch Kubatko of the Baltimore Sun, is that Bedard is expected to take his physical today.  I think we’re all ready for an official announcement.

Jeff Zrebiec says the framework has been agreed upon, and it’s the players we’ve been discussing for the past few days.  At any rate we should have an announcement by week’s end.

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