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Brian Roberts Rumors

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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 requesting Ronny Cedeno, Sean Gallagher, and two more top youngsters.  That steep price could cause the Cubs to turn to Coco Crisp or Marlon Byrd.  However, neither the Red Sox nor the Rangers seem to value either as a fourth outfielder.

Brian Roberts Rumors

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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 soon as the Orioles decide which pitchers they want in return.

All sorts of Cubs pitchers have been rumored in these talks: Sean Marshall, Sean Gallagher, Jason Marquis, Jose Ceda, Donald Veal.  It’s been said that the Cubs won’t part with Ceda. My best guess is that this deal does get done before Opening Day.

Brian Roberts Rumors

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Here’s the latest.

  • Brian Roberts is not in Orioles’ camp today; he’s gone to a local hospital for a stomach ailment.  Roch Kubatko does not believe he’s secretly been traded.
  • Roberts will make no trade demands.
  • Ken Rosenthal says the chances of a Roberts trade "seem to diminish each day."  Rosenthal cites Roberts’ relationship with Peter Angelos, and wonders whether the Orioles could wait until July to get more teams involved.  If a Cubs deal does occur, Ronny Cedeno is highly likely to be included.
  • Three days ago, ESPN’s Peter Gammons wrote that the Cubs refuse to part with Felix Pie or Jose Ceda for Roberts.  Also, many MLBTR readers have speculated that the Orioles no longer have use for any of the Cubs’ outfielders.

Brian Roberts Rumors

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Here’s the latest.

  • Brian Roberts is not in Orioles’ camp today; he’s gone to a local hospital for a stomach ailment.  Roch Kubatko does not believe he’s secretly been traded.
  • Roberts will make no trade demands.
  • Ken Rosenthal says the chances of a Roberts trade "seem to diminish each day."  Rosenthal cites Roberts’ relationship with Peter Angelos, and wonders whether the Orioles could wait until July to get more teams involved.  If a Cubs deal does occur, Ronny Cedeno is highly likely to be included.
  • Three days ago, ESPN’s Peter Gammons wrote that the Cubs refuse to part with Felix Pie or Jose Ceda for Roberts.  Also, many MLBTR readers have speculated that the Orioles no longer have use for any of the Cubs’ outfielders.

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. 

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 Cubs Rumors

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UPDATE, 1-9-08 at 6:06pm: WGN Radio’s Dave Kaplan checked in on this situation on his blog.  He has "great sources" saying the price for Roberts is much higher than was previously reported.  The Orioles want Rich Hill, Felix Pie, or Tyler Colvin.  Hill is known to be off-limits.

UPDATE, 1-9-08 at 10:58am: Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune believes this deal "is almost certainly going to happen."  He expects it to be for the same players Orioles Hangout mentioned.  However, an Orioles official contacted Orioles Hangout to tell them their report was inaccurate.

UPDATE, 1-9-08 at 9:22am: Roch Kubatko (via a team spokesman) and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun talked to Andy MacPhail and report that nothing has changed since last night on the Roberts talks and no deal is done.

FROM 1-9-08 at 7:53am:

Orioles Hangout is reporting that the trade of Brian Roberts to the Cubs is final.  They’re saying it’s for Sean Gallagher, Sean Marshall, and Ronny Cedeno.  I’ll update the post as info comes along.

Cubs Aggressively Pursuing Brian Roberts

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UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:58pm: The Baltimore Sun guys have more.  The Cubs have a significant offer on the table, and it may include Gallagher and Matt Murton (but not Hill or Pie).  The Cubs will have to do better than just Gallagher and Murton, I imagine.  According to Jayson Stark, the Cubs would have to be blown away to trade Hill or Pie.

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:03pm: ESPN Radio 1000’s Bruce Levine checks in to add that Ronny Cedeno would likely be involved in a Roberts deal.

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 9:39pm: ESPN’s Amy Nelson says Hill is not part of the Roberts talks.  Marshall, Gallagher, Felix Pie, and Donald Veal may be in the mix though.

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 8:17pm: ESPN’s Steve Phillips says the Orioles "would get Rich Hill and Sean Marshall" for Roberts.  Not sure if that means the Cubs offered it.  Seems like a lot, but I am an unabashed Rich Hill fan.

FROM 12-5-07 at 5:31pm:

Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun are reporting that the Cubs are aggressively pursuing the Orioles’ Brian Roberts.

A three player deal is on the table, so I assume the Cubs would send two players over.  It’s known that they’d send a starting pitcher, but we don’t have names yet.  The authors note that the Orioles have been fond of Rich Hill and Sean Gallagher in the past.  Keep in mind that a trade of Roberts would require Peter Angelos’ approval.  Per Zrebiec, Angelos would have to be "totally overwhelmed" with an offer.

The authors also note that the Orioles have talked to Tadahito Iguchi’s agent in anticipation of a possible Roberts trade.  The Padres and Dodgers would join the Orioles as his top three choices.

Hitoki Iwase, Carlos Silva On Cubs’ Wish List

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According to Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Cubs’ plans this winter involve a heavy focus on Japan.  As you already know, they’re all over Kosuke Fukudome, Hiroki Kuroda, and Kaz Matsui.

Another name to add to the list: lefty closer Hitoki Iwase.  The Cubs have reportedly heavily scouted Iwase and Kuroda.  The Cubs’ closer situation is wide open, with Ryan Dempster moving to the starting rotation.

De Luca also reports that the Cubs will inquire on head of the class free agent starter Carlos Silva.  Silva shares an agent with Carlos Zambrano.  No one expects Silva to come cheaper than four years, $40MM.  The Cubs showed last year that they were willing to invest that kind of money in starting pitching.  Their efforts may be bolstered by their success in importing Ted Lilly from the AL. 

Also, a possible trade could be developing with the Rays.  Tampa Bay is looking to add a shortstop, but the free agent crop is already down to just David Eckstein, Cesar Izturis, and the wild card Alexei Ramirez.  Eckstein isn’t the defensive-minded the guy the Rays covet, and he’d be too expensive anyway.  Marc Topkin names four possible trade targets for the Rays: Erick Aybar, Ronny Cedeno, Chin-Ling Hu, and Brent Lillibridge.  The Cubs are known to have interest in Carl Crawford.  The two parties might have a starting point in Cedeno, but quality pitching like Rich Hill and/or Carlos Marmol would have to be added to the package.    

Williamson Surfaces In Trade Talks

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Mike Kiley of the Sun-Times notes that "Other teams are highly interested in Scott Williamson, as they have been all winter in trade talks with general manager Jim Hendry."  In a separate article, Kiley quotes Jim Hendry saying that Matt Murton, Ronny Cedeno, and Rich Hill have been highly sought after as well.

Hill came up in talks for Barry Zito and a possible Miguel Tejada deal.  As a 26 year-old, Hill is far past prospect status.  Despite pitching college ball as late as 2002, he didn’t pitch above A ball until 2005.  Ridiculously high strikeout totals have been negated by massive walk totals.  Hill finally got the walks down to an acceptable level in the minors in 2005.  If his success continues in Iowa, it’s likely he’s dealt before the All-Star break.

Cedeno was mentioned in talks for Brad Wilkerson, but that was before the Dodgers signed Rafael Furcal.  Missing out on him has taken away one of the Cubs’ best trading chips, as they’re now forced to rely on Cedeno as their starting shortstop.  Concern has been expressed over Cedeno’s hitting prior to 2005, but he may have turned a corner at age 22.  He kept his contact rate near 90% and may be able to couple a .290 average with good defense.  At this point, trading Cedeno makes very little sense.

Murton should be fairly expendable, as he may not project to hit for enough power to play left field regularly.  He’s a 24 year-old with a sweet swing and a good eye.  The average National League left fielder hit .272/.348/.457 last year, and PECOTA projects Murton at .278/.339/.411 for 2006.  Sure, there’s room for growth, but the Cubs probably can’t wait around for it with below average production at a power position.  You might think of him as Rondell White without the health issues.  He’s better suited for a developing team like the Pirates or Royals.

Williamson does fit the win now mentality, and he’s probably the one Cubs reliever with the potential to dominate.  I would keep him around as closer insurance and not worry about having too many setup men.  At $2MM something like his 2002 season would be spectacular (2.92 ERA in 74 innings).  I can’t see how the Cubs would get a more useful player in return unless perhaps it was to bolster their bench.

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