Sun-Times says O's want Cedeno, Gallagher, and 2 more prospects

[Number5]

Sounds like you're incredulous. Curious, how many Orioles do you expect will outhit Murton this year?

The list is short... 3 or 4 is probably being generous. It could easily be just 1 or 2. Last year it was 3, IIRC.

So the Cubs can't give away a guy that would instantly improve the middle of the O's lineup. Not sure you ought to be crowing too loudly about that.

I don't think anybody's crowing about it, Dave. Being saddled with contracts like Gibbons' hurts us in so many ways. It is just a fact that it is hard for us to do a deal that has Murton coming back when we have Gibbons, Huff, Mora, and Millar. Even with Payton going to the Cubs, it would be hard to get Scott and Murton their at bats when we are trying to get the other four enough at bats to possibly get some teams interested in them. Tough spot. Who knows, maybe PA will decide to bite the bullet and cut Gibbons, but I would doubt it.

[Number5]

I'm not sure what all the hating on Murton is all about either.

Don't hate Murton. Just facing facts as to the limitations of where you can play him. If we didn't already get Scott, I'd be all over him. I think the guy is a good hitter.

[Ruzious]

I'm not sure what all the hating on Murton is all about either.

It's mainly coming from outside sources - like Gammons, the Rangers, and... the Cubs. From Rotoworld:

Update: The Cubs continue to express interest in Byrd, but Texas is wanting more than just outfielder Matt Murton in return according to the team’s web site.

[owl]

It's mainly coming from outside sources - like Gammons, the Rangers, and... the Cubs. From Rotoworld:

That's called trade negotiations and has nothing to do with "hating." Does Roberts have microscopic value since no one has accepted what you want for him?

[Roll Tide]

Markakis & Jones are locks. That leaves Scott in LF, Huff & Millar at 1B/DH. Murton is not a significant, if any, imrpovement over any of those players. As long as those guys are on the team, Murton is a platoon in LF at best. The only good reason to get Murton is to flip him, and it doesn't look like there's a lot of interest out there.

I wouldn't necessarily count on Jones as a lock to out hit. Lets face it he only hit .260 last year so improvement to say .280 would likely not be as good as Murton's at, near, or slightly over .300. I honestly prefer Murton to Millar & personally I would bring him in & maybe give him a half a season at AAA to play 1B.

[David]

Markakis & Jones are locks. That leaves Scott in LF, Huff & Millar at 1B/DH. Murton is not a significant, if any, imrpovement over any of those players. As long as those guys are on the team, Murton is a platoon in LF at best. The only good reason to get Murton is to flip him, and it doesn't look like there's a lot of interest out there.

Murton > Huff & Millar, especially once you take age into account.

And Jones isn't a lock to outproduce Murton, either, though his prospect status/potential make him more valuable.

[byrdz]

Don't hate Murton. Just facing facts as to the limitations of where you can play him. If we didn't already get Scott, I'd be all over him. I think the guy is a good hitter.

So, stick the worst of the two defensive players in the DH role. We haven't had someone there worth a damn since I can remember anyway, what a waste of the DH spot.

[dkdc]

Latest from the Sun:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-osnotes0228,0,2773295.story

Nothing really new here, but there's certainly a lot of smoke billowing out.

On a day when two Chicago Cubs scouts were on hand to watch him play, Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts stood out in the Orioles' otherwise dreary exhibition season debut today. Roberts went 1-for-2 with a walk, an RBI double, a run scored and two stolen bases in the Orioles' 16-3 loss to the Florida Marlins at Fort Lauderdale Stadium.

Looking for a leadoff hitter to jumpstart their offense and get on base ahead of sluggers Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee, the Cubs have targeted Roberts for months and there is a sense in the industry that the uncertainty with second baseman Mark DeRosa could accelerate the trade talks. DeRosa underwent a procedure today to correct an irregular heartbeat.

The Orioles are believed to be looking for a package that includes pitcher Sean Gallagher, shortstop Ronny Cedeno, pitching prospects Jose Ceda and¸or Donald Veal and perhaps one other player.

The Orioles will dispatch a scout to Arizona to look at some of the players being discussed next week. While both sides still feel confident that a deal could get done, talks are expected to continue for a couple more weeks.

[MikeAD]

The Orioles are believed to be looking for a package that includes pitcher Sean Gallagher, shortstop Ronny Cedeno, pitching prospects Jose Ceda and¸or Donald Veal and perhaps one other player.

We really need more than one positional player for Roberts. I'd be happy if the "perhaps one other player" was Patterson, but I really am getting sick of every trade scenario ending up in more pitching. I understand it, but eventually we are going to need people to play in the field.

I'd much rather keep Roberts as an anchor of a young team then get more pitching depth and a middle infielder that has some upside, but really isn't all that special.

[Cubsfan]

I've posted before saying that Murton will outhit Scott. The dead weight (Millar, Gibbons, Huff, Mora, Payton, etc.) on your team is what's causing the problems. I think packaging Murton/Scott with a young pitcher could solve your MI problems. Also, you might be able to package a younger player with one of the bad contracts (dead weight) to get a better prospect. That is one of the advantages to stockpiling young players.

[oriole_way]

I didn't mean to imply that Jones was a lock to outhit Murton, just that Jones & Markakis are locks to hold down CF & RF. I agree that Murton is more valuable than Huff & Millar but as long as the O's have those two guys, there's no reason to get Murton.

But I thought the whole point is to rebuild. How much longer do you expect Millar and Huff to be Orioles? Huff and Millar won't be on the next competitive Orioles team. Murton could be.

[oriole_way]

I don't think anybody's crowing about it, Dave. Being saddled with contracts like Gibbons' hurts us in so many ways. It is just a fact that it is hard for us to do a deal that has Murton coming back when we have Gibbons, Huff, Mora, and Millar. Even with Payton going to the Cubs, it would be hard to get Scott and Murton their at bats when we are trying to get the other four enough at bats to possibly get some teams interested in them. Tough spot. Who knows, maybe PA will decide to bite the bullet and cut Gibbons, but I would doubt it.

I hope that the bolded part of that statement is not actually the reason that the Orioles don't want Murton. And it's not like Murton is very expensive either. So if the Orioles need to eat Gibby's salary they should do it. Otherwise, this is akin to compounding a mistake with another mistake. With that type of thinking, this team will never compete.

[oriole_way]

We really need more than one positional player for Roberts. I'd be happy if the "perhaps one other player" was Patterson, but I really am getting sick of every trade scenario ending up in more pitching. I understand it, but eventually we are going to need people to play in the field.

I'd much rather keep Roberts as an anchor of a young team then get more pitching depth and a middle infielder that has some upside, but really isn't all that special.

You would think so.

But then you have posters who say that we don't have room for a decent young LFer like Murton.

[MikeAD]

You would think so.

But then you have posters who say that we don't have room for a decent young LFer like Murton.

Its not that I think we NEED Murton, but if we could him instead of Veal, then sure why not. We already have 4,5,6 guys that could be #4 or 5 guys in the rotation.

[hoosiers]

The question with Murton has little to do with our current roster, IMO.

It has to do with whether or not he profiles as an solidly above average player over the next three to five years. Murton is hardly a sure thing to produce at an expected level and the Cubs have shown no confidence that Murton could do so.

I would swap Murton for the mediocre players on our roster in a second, but I do not want him as an important part of a trade for BRob.