Cubs Sign Alex Cintron
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.
Odds and Ends: Kelly Johnson, Nathan, Crede
Time for some early Monday odds and ends.
- Remember how White Sox GM Ron Schueler embarrassed Cubs GM Ed Lynch in 1998 by acquiring Jon Garland for Matt Karchner? Rany Jazayerli sees a parallel to that heist with the Royals’ acquisition of Daniel Cortes as part of the July ’06 Mike MacDougal trade.
- Mike Berardino’s blog continues to entertain; this time with a Dan Miceli story. Ah, knife fights with siblings. Who among us can say they haven’t had one or two?
- Buster Olney learned from Braves GM Frank Wren that Kelly Johnson has been the team’s most asked-for player in trade talks this winter.
- The look on Kyle Kendrick‘s face is priceless.
- Extension talks with the Twins and Joe Nathan have gone dormant. Nathan still thinks the gap can be bridged but wants it done before the season begins.
- Andy Marte and Shin-Soo Choo are both out of options; when Choo comes back from elbow surgery a month into the season one of them could be traded.
- Henry Schulman says the White Sox may accept prospects from the Giants for Joe Crede.
- Derek Lowe is entering his walk year, and he hasn’t had any extension talks with the Dodgers yet.
Murton Reads MLBTR
It was pretty cool to learn today that Cubs outfielder Matt Murton reads MLBTradeRumors.com. Welcome! Unfortunately, I can’t imagine it’s thrilling to read about yourself in trade rumors all winter.
Murton is a left fielder, and the Cubs obviously have Alfonso Soriano there. Right field is now filled by Kosuke Fukudome. Lou Piniella couldn’t help but admit that Murton’s role on the Cubs is as a fourth outfielder. The Herald’s Bruce Miles has heard rumblings that the Cubs will try to trade Murton to a team where he can play regularly. ESPN’s Keith Law thinks Murton would be good for a .290/.360/.470 line in regular duty.
Baltimore wouldn’t make sense, now that the team has accumulated an outfield surplus of their own. San Diego remains a strong option, though those talks were said to be slow going last time we checked. And the Rangers appear to want more than just Murton for Marlon Byrd, something the Cubs may be reluctant to do. My own speculation – the Indians could be a fit.
Orioles Asked For Ceda In Roberts Deal
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
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.
Brian Roberts Rumors
Who needs a Brian Roberts update? You do, of course.
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
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
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?
Cubs/Brian Roberts Update
Buster Olney has the latest on the Cubs’ talks to acquire second baseman Brian Roberts. According to Olney:
Sources involved in Baltimore’s trade talks with Chicago expressed confidence that at some point, the Orioles and Cubs will finish the proposed Brian Roberts deal.
Olney says Sean Gallagher would be the centerpiece of the deal. On February 3rd, ESPN’s Jayson Stark said Gallagher or Sean Marshall would be included, but beyond that nothing has been decided.
Mariners Have Company In Bedard Pursuit
Andy MacPhail told the Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec today that teams other than the Mariners have "chimed in" on Erik Bedard. What is the goal of this public statement? To push the Mariners to up their offer?
MacPhail says he’s just having conversations with the Mariners currently. He’s been in touch with Peter Angelos and not much has changed of late.
Hard to say which other clubs chimed in on Bedard, if it’s true. I have heard that the Cubs haven’t talked to the O’s in over a week. Teams like the Reds, Indians, Angels, and Rockies could theoretically jump in.