Brian Roberts trade rumors back on!

[PoorMike]

I like these different deals that you guys are coming up with, but why are they all centered around Weeks???

He's 26 and batting .210 with 7 hr. Didn't the potential dry up after age 24??? If he ends up living up to that potential, he'll be 30 with declining defense. I'd take him in a deal, but not as the center piece of it.

Gamel and Laporta are studs, and and Escobar is going to one as well. If a deal starts getting to a real possibility... I DO NOT want Bill Hall in it. The Brewers will try to include him I bet, maybe even Hardy. Gamel and Escobar are the first two players I want in a deal. LaPorta will not be traded.

Weeks is their 2B right? It makes sense that he'd be coming back in a deal with MIL.

[Sports Guy]

Rosenthal:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8225468/Fresh-relievers-will-be-in-demand-for-pennant-races

Gracias...Totally missed that.

[rhall]

I like talking trade rumors, but one thing that does bother me is when things get completely unrealistic.

There is NO WAY the O's get Matt LaPorta. He is their best prospect, and one of the top prospects in all of baseball. He's also one of the safer bets to be playing and playing well in the big leagues sometime in 2009. Acquiring LaPorta would take a player the caliber Bedard-pre-2008, and we don't have one.

As much as I like Weeks' potential, he scares me a little bit. He has yet to play a full season in the bigs and doesn't hit for nearly enough power to justify all the strikeouts. He's also only hit above .239 once (.279 in 2006). And the defensive struggles could be a bigger sticking point than we think. Remember that MacPhail is trying to remake the organization into one focused on pitching and defense. Opinions on Weeks' glove may not be all that accurate though. By most accounts he has improved a lot over the last couple of seasons, and his FLDG%, error totals and range factors have been solid/average for 2007 & 2008. His injury history is the biggest sticking point for me. It's likely a major reason why his bat hasn't developed, so if he can get healthy his bat could take off. Or the injuries could be taking an irreversible toll on his body and he may never be the player scouts envisioned.

The player that I would insist be involved is SS Alcides Escobar. Most scouts think he could play SS in the bigs now, it's only a matter of his bat developing. Well, at the age of 21, he's hitting .337/.374/.457 in Double-A thru 62 games. He's finally maturing and gaining some strength and it's showing in his offensive numbers. His offensive development drastically increases his chances of being an everyday player in the bigs. His defense is definitely good enough. A lot of people on the OH were fawning over Carlos Triunfel in the Bedard rumors, so why not Escobar. IMO, he's the better prospect - better defense, will stay at short, and now he's showing more offensive value (not just an empty AVG).

I'd be happy to take on the risk of Rickie Weeks if we could also grab Alcides Escobar. The problem is, I'd be surprised if the Brewers would do that for just BRob. That would show that they are very desperate, and I don't see any evidence that they feel that way. BRob and a bullpen arm might be enticing though. Their bullpen isn't exactly a strong suit either, and if they do make a deal like this it would be to win this year and maybe the next 2-3 years. It would help with the Orioles potential future bullpen headache, too (roster crunch/too many bodies).

EDIT/DISCLAIMER:

If you can't tell from my post, I don't really like the idea of trading for Rickie Weeks, but the proposed deal includes him because the Brewers might insist on him being included, and he does have upside, even if I don't like him.

[srock]

I'm trying to figure out when Weeks is a free agent but this report from Cots is really confusing"

Rickie Weeks 2b

1 year/$1.057M (2008)

* re-signed 3/2/08

* 5 years/$4.8M (2003-07)

o contract purchased 6/05

o $3.6M signing bonus (spread over life of contract, with $2M due 1/04)

o 03:$0.1M, 04-05: split contracts, 06:$1.22M, 07:$1.32M

o value of total package may reach:

+ $5.3M if Weeks makes the majors in 2005

+ $5.1M if Weeks makes the majors in 2006

+ $4.8M if Weeks makes the majors in 2007 (his final option year)

o signed major-league contract 8/03

* drafted 2003 (1-2)

* agent: Lon Babby

* ML service: 2.131

From the service time, it would seem he has a good 4 years before he is a free agent, but then there is this 5 year/4.8 million business that expired in 2007. I don't know what to make of this and it is critical to whether I would trade Roberts for him.

[RVAbird]

I'm trying to figure out when Weeks is a free agent but this report from Cots is really confusing"

Rickie Weeks 2b

1 year/$1.057M (2008)

* re-signed 3/2/08

* 5 years/$4.8M (2003-07)

o contract purchased 6/05

o $3.6M signing bonus (spread over life of contract, with $2M due 1/04)

o 03:$0.1M, 04-05: split contracts, 06:$1.22M, 07:$1.32M

o value of total package may reach:

+ $5.3M if Weeks makes the majors in 2005

+ $5.1M if Weeks makes the majors in 2006

+ $4.8M if Weeks makes the majors in 2007 (his final option year)

o signed major-league contract 8/03

* drafted 2003 (1-2)

* agent: Lon Babby

* ML service: 2.131

From the service time, it would seem he has a good 4 years before he is a free agent, but then there is this 5 year/4.8 million business that expired in 2007. I don't know what to make of this and it is critical to whether I would trade Roberts for him.

Not 100 percent sure about all of this but I believe that means Weeks signed a ML contract when he was drafted. He had to reach the majors by the end of that contract, 2007. Even though the contract "expired" in 2007 he is still under team control for 6 years of service time from when his contract was first purchased (2005). If I'm reading this correctly, he's in his third year of service time and would be under team control for three years after this, so through 2011.

Is that right?

[Cubsfan]

Not at all. As SG pointed out Weeks > Cedeno, Veal and Ceda.

AM must be passing out Koolaide to some of you OH posters. It was bad enough when you overvalued BRob during the trade discussions, but now you're delusional about the value of a guy hitting .210 on another team. Some of you were critical of Cedeno when he was mentioned in the trade discussions, but after factoring in Cedeno's versatility, Weeks' poor fielding, and that they're the same age, you might realize that Cedeno = Weeks.

[rhall]

Rotoworld lists Weeks as being arbitration eligible after this season and a free agent after the 2011 season.

[rhall]

AM must be passing out Koolaide to some of you OH posters. It was bad enough when you overvalued BRob during the trade discussions, but now you're delusional about the value of a guy hitting .210 on another team. Some of you were critical of Cedeno when he was mentioned in the trade discussions, but after factoring in Cedeno's versatility, Weeks' poor fielding, and that they're the same age, you might realize that Cedeno = Weeks.

I think it's pretty obvious that the people who still value Weeks that highly are focusing on his potential to become a perenial 20/20 guy at 2B (he'll never win a GG, but his defense has improved).

[crawdad]

I like talking trade rumors, but one thing that does bother me is when things get completely unrealistic.

There is NO WAY the O's get Matt LaPorta. He is their best prospect, and one of the top prospects in all of baseball. He's also one of the safer bets to be playing and playing well in the big leagues sometime in 2009. Acquiring LaPorta would take a player the caliber Bedard-pre-2008, and we don't have one.

As much as I like Weeks' potential, he scares me a little bit. He has yet to play a full season in the bigs and doesn't hit for nearly enough power to justify all the strikeouts. He's also only hit above .239 once (.279 in 2006). And the defensive struggles could be a bigger sticking point than we think. Remember that MacPhail is trying to remake the organization into one focused on pitching and defense. Opinions on Weeks' glove may not be all that accurate though. By most accounts he has improved a lot over the last couple of seasons, and his FLDG%, error totals and range factors have been solid/average for 2007 & 2008. His injury history is the biggest sticking point for me. It's likely a major reason why his bat hasn't developed, so if he can get healthy his bat could take off. Or the injuries could be taking an irreversible toll on his body and he may never be the player scouts envisioned.

The player that I would insist be involved is SS Alcides Escobar. Most scouts think he could play SS in the bigs now, it's only a matter of his bat developing. Well, at the age of 21, he's hitting .337/.374/.457 in Double-A thru 62 games. He's finally maturing and gaining some strength and it's showing in his offensive numbers. His offensive development drastically increases his chances of being an everyday player in the bigs. His defense is definitely good enough. A lot of people on the OH were fawning over Carlos Triunfel in the Bedard rumors, so why not Escobar. IMO, he's the better prospect - better defense, will stay at short, and now he's showing more offensive value (not just an empty AVG).

I'd be happy to take on the risk of Rickie Weeks if we could also grab Alcides Escobar. The problem is, I'd be surprised if the Brewers would do that for just BRob. That would show that they are very desperate, and I don't see any evidence that they feel that way. BRob and a bullpen arm might be enticing though. Their bullpen isn't exactly a strong suit either, and if they do make a deal like this it would be to win this year and maybe the next 2-3 years. It would help with the Orioles potential future bullpen headache, too (roster crunch/too many bodies).

I wrote a quick piece on this potential trade this morning. Basically, I think LaPorta can be had because the Brewers are valuing Gamel as a 1B with Green moving up as a potential 3B guy. They should be ready by the time Fielder departs. I figure a starting point would be: Roberts and Sherrill for Weeks, LaPorta, and Brent Brewer (a toolsy SS in HiA). LaPorta is their best guy, but is a bit of a mess defensively. They also have other guys who can reasonably replace him. Brewer is not as good as Alicides right now and may not be, but he has potential. If you want Alicedes, I think you would have to degrade LaPorta to Green or Grindl.

[BrewCity]

Gamel and Laporta are studs, and and Escobar is going to one as well. If a deal starts getting to a real possibility... I DO NOT want Bill Hall in it. The Brewers will try to include him I bet, maybe even Hardy. Gamel and Escobar are the first two players I want in a deal. LaPorta will not be traded.

I've got to totally agree with this, Bill Hall should not even be an add-on, he is g-awful against righties. Also, living in Mwaukee and watching these guys every day, I would say weeks defense is much improved.

I also think the Brewers would have to add a AA/A player to make this good for the O's.

[PoorMike]

I wrote a quick piece on this potential trade this morning. Basically, I think LaPorta can be had because the Brewers are valuing Gamel as a 1B with Green moving up as a potential 3B guy. They should be ready by the time Fielder departs. I figure a starting point would be: Roberts and Sherrill for Weeks, LaPorta, and Brent Brewer (a toolsy SS in HiA). LaPorta is their best guy, but is a bit of a mess defensively. They also have other guys who can reasonably replace him. Brewer is not as good as Alicides right now and may not be, but he has potential. If you want Alicedes, I think you would have to degrade LaPorta to Green or Grindl.

I don't think MIL would trade a guy named Brewer.

(please forgive my useless post )

[BrewCity]

I don't think MIL would trade a guy named Brewer.

(please forgive my useless post )

Sure they would, He isn't named "Bernie":D

[whatdoiget000]

Why not LaPorta? They've got a little guy named Prince Fielder manning 1st for a couple more years and then Gamel should be along...and think about a Hall/Scott platoon...that's pretty enticing to me.

[rhall]

I wrote a quick piece on this potential trade this morning. Basically, I think LaPorta can be had because the Brewers are valuing Gamel as a 1B with Green moving up as a potential 3B guy. They should be ready by the time Fielder departs. I figure a starting point would be: Roberts and Sherrill for Weeks, LaPorta, and Brent Brewer (a toolsy SS in HiA). LaPorta is their best guy, but is a bit of a mess defensively. They also have other guys who can reasonably replace him. Brewer is not as good as Alicides right now and may not be, but he has potential. If you want Alicedes, I think you would have to degrade LaPorta to Green or Grindl.

I guess I just believe that the Brewers think higher of LaPorta's bat & overall value (as do I).

I would rather keep Alcides in the deal than take Brewer. The low AVG and high Ks worry me. But mostly, I just like Alcides. Do you think we could do Roberts & Sherrill for Weeks, Alcides & Cole Gillespie?

[crawdad]

I don't think MIL would trade a guy named Brewer.

(please forgive my useless post )

There have been 7 MLB players with the last name Brewer. None have been Brewers.