What would it take for the Cubs to land B-Rob this year?

[weams]

Or the Cubs could let DeRosa play 2B for another year, and then sign Roberts for free next winter.

Tick, Tick, Tick...

[Singleton]

Much of what the O's should do is tied to the FA market. AM should know how exactly how high he can go to sign Tex and Burnett and he should already have a sense of whether he's got a shot. If he has no shot, he should be marketing Roberts heavily since there is virtually no chance he signs an extension with the team as currently constructed or with minor modifications.

Unfortunately, in this market, I don't see teams sending over great prospects for Roberts so the O's will have to decide whether they'd rather have a spare parts offer like the Cubs or keep Roberts and collect the draft picks. I don't see too many other teams fitting our needs. Cleveland's not parting with ACab (IMO). They could offer a poor fielding thirdbase propsect but we have those already (). The White Sox have established (not young) major leaguers but I wouldn't go there. The Dodgers might offer a shortstop if they sign Furcal. I don't see much else.

If push comes to shove (no Tex/AJ), I'd probably make a deal that includes Hill, Cedeno and another minor leaguer or two. I don't see them giving up Vitters and I don't really like Veal but I suspect there are others who could be included.

[davearm]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3704339

I'm not saying Roberts = Peavy, but Kevin Towers illustrates wonderfully what most Cubs fans need to absorb : Your system isn't very deep right now.

The Cubs are indeed very weak in prospects. Excluding Vitters and the 2008 draft class, there are precious few worth even mentioning.

What the Cubs have a lot of, is ML-ready, ML-caliber players that are plug-and-play fits for rebuilding teams like the O's.

Need SP? Rich Hill and Sean Marshall.

Need RP? Mike Wuertz and several others.

Need an OF? Felix Pie is a former elite prospect.

Need MI help? Cedeno, Fontenot, Theriot.

As I mentioned earlier, a package of several players of this caliber was enough for Harden + Gaudin. Roberts is of similar value. If the O's are down for the same type of return for a year of Roberts, then let's do it.

But if guys from BA's top 100 list is all the O's are interested in, then they'll have to keep looking.

Of course the playable ML-ready guys with less fanfare are typically disregarded by the messageboard crowd, and anyone with a top 100 seal of approval is fawned over.

[wildcard]

The Cubs' offense led the NL in runs scored, and most other meaningful categories (OBP, SLG, and others), so any discussion of weaknesses has to be put in proper context... in essence they had no weaknesses last year.

I thought you said earlier that the Cubs weakness is not enough lefthanded bats in the lineup?

What do the Cubs think of Abreu?

[LookinUp]

I thought you said earlier that the Cubs weakness is not enough lefthanded bats in the lineup?

What do the Cubs think of Abreu?

They probably think he's a terrible outfielder who has really lost a lot of power. He's still good, but not nearly what he was.

[wildcard]

They probably think he's a terrible outfielder who has really lost a lot of power. He's still good, but not nearly what he was.

He is durable. Lead the Yankees in at bats with 609. 20 HR, 100 scored, 100 RBI. 296/371/471/842. He can do a lot for a contending team.

[davearm]

I thought you said earlier that the Cubs weakness is not enough lefthanded bats in the lineup?

What do the Cubs think of Abreu?

The Cubs' *perceived* weakness is the lack of a middle-of-the-order lefthanded bat.

Apparently the deal is, Lou isn't comfortable with the fact that in the 7th or 8th a manager like Torre can bring in a power righty like Broxton and blow right through the heart of the Cubs' order (Lee Ramirez Soto DeRosa). He wants to break those guys up with a lefty so the opposing manager has a tough decision to make regarding how he's going to use his bullpen in the later innings.

My response to that is, it didn't seem to be a big problem over the course of 162 regular season game, so why are we letting 3 crappy postseason games skew the perception.

That opinion notwithstanding, acquiring Roberts only, and pushing Soriano into the middle of the order actually exacerbates the problem I outlined.

I haven't heard much mention of Abreu. "Young and athletic" is the indicated priority, which most have taken to signal Hermida is the top target.

[wildcard]

The Cubs' *perceived* weakness is the lack of a middle-of-the-order lefthanded bat.

Apparently the deal is, Lou isn't comfortable with the fact that in the 7th or 8th a manager like Torre can bring in a power righty like Broxton and blow right through the heart of the Cubs' order (Lee Ramirez Soto DeRosa). He wants to break those guys up with a lefty so the opposing manager has a tough decision to make regarding how he's going to use his bullpen in the later innings.

My response to that is, it didn't seem to be a big problem over the course of 162 regular season game, so why are we letting 3 crappy postseason games skew the perception.

That opinion notwithstanding, acquiring Roberts only, and pushing Soriano into the middle of the order actually exacerbates the problem I outlined.

I haven't heard much mention of Abreu. "Young and athletic" is the indicated priority, which most have taken to signal Hermida is the top target.

Thanks Dave. Its good to have a guy with a the pluse on the Cubs. Helps disspell the rumors.

[Ballgame64]

I know this is a thread about potential deals with the Cubs, but I think the White Sox might want Roberts more than the Cubs. Roberts is exactly what the Sox should be looking for. They can move Ramirez to SS and have Roberts play 2nd and bat leadoff.

With that said, I'm sure the Cubs still have an interest in Roberts. While Vitters is probably available in the right deal, I do not think Hendry would consider a deal for Roberts the type of deal where he includes Vitters. If Vitters is traded, it will probably be for the left handed middle of the order guy Lou covets or for a top of the rotation starting pitcher, like Peavy.

[PHRESH]

Cubs get:

Peavy

Roberts

Scott

Padres get:

DCab/Penn

Samardzija

Pie

Sherrill

Cedeno/Theriot

Veal

O's get:

Greene

Vitters

Cedeno/Fontenot/Flaherty

Blanks

Hill/Marshall

How close is this to being fair?

EDIT: Now that I've posted it, I see that's a helluva lot of players involved! And perhaps the Pads still come up a bit short.

[Tx Oriole]

I don't see any reason why the Cubs would want Roberts now?

[Hank Scorpio]

Or the Cubs could let DeRosa play 2B for another year, and then sign Roberts for free next winter.

They could, but I would imagine that a little part of 2008 Jimbo Hendry wishes he would've made that deal back in February.

He's certainly not going to give up a comparable deal NOW. So from the O's perspective, it'd behoove them to look elsewhere, IMO.

[Hank Scorpio]

The Cubs are indeed very weak in prospects. Excluding Vitters and the 2008 draft class, there are precious few worth even mentioning.

What the Cubs have a lot of, is ML-ready, ML-caliber players that are plug-and-play fits for rebuilding teams like the O's.

Need SP? Rich Hill and Sean Marshall.

Need RP? Mike Wuertz and several others.

Need an OF? Felix Pie is a former elite prospect.

Need MI help? Cedeno, Fontenot, Theriot.

As I mentioned earlier, a package of several players of this caliber was enough for Harden + Gaudin. Roberts is of similar value. If the O's are down for the same type of return for a year of Roberts, then let's do it.

But if guys from BA's top 100 list is all the O's are interested in, then they'll have to keep looking.

Of course the playable ML-ready guys with less fanfare are typically disregarded by the messageboard crowd, and anyone with a top 100 seal of approval is fawned over.

You said "Rich Hill."

Well, if Gallagher, Cedeno, Marshall and (who was it again?) wasn't good enough for us last year, I'm pretty sure there won't be enough for AM this year either.

[clapdiddy]

Cubs get:

Peavy

Roberts

Scott

Padres get:

DCab/Penn

Samardzija

Pie

Sherrill

Cedeno/Theriot

Veal

O's get:

Greene

Vitters

Cedeno/Fontenot/Flaherty

Blanks

Hill/Marshall

How close is this to being fair?

EDIT: Now that I've posted it, I see that's a helluva lot of players involved! And perhaps the Pads still come up a bit short.

Samardzija isn't going anywhere. He has a no-trade contract.

Even with him going to San Diego, it looks like they get the short end of the stick.

[Cubsfan]

Cubs get:

Peavy

Roberts

Scott

Padres get:

DCab/Penn

Samardzija

Pie

Sherrill

Cedeno/Theriot

Veal

O's get:

Greene

Vitters

Cedeno/Fontenot/Flaherty

Blanks

Hill/Marshall

How close is this to being fair?

EDIT: Now that I've posted it, I see that's a helluva lot of players involved! And perhaps the Pads still come up a bit short.

I've got a bit of a reputation on a Cubs' site for coming up with 3-way deals, but this one takes the cake. 14 players - whew!